Editing Cryptic crossword (section)

== Cryptic crosswords in specific publications ==

=== United Kingdom ===
In Britain it is traditional—dating from the cryptic crossword pioneer [[Edward Powys Mathers|Edward (Bill) Powys Mathers]] (1892–1939), who called himself "Torquemada" after the Spanish [[Spanish Inquisition|Inquisitor]]—for compilers to use evocative pseudonyms. [[Ruth Crisp|"Crispa"]], named from the Latin for "curly-headed", who set crosswords for the ''Guardian'' from 1954<ref>A Display of Lights (9), Val Gilbert, 2008 - p. 155</ref> until her retirement in 2004, legally changed her surname to "Crisp" after divorcing in the 1970s.  Some pseudonyms have obvious connotations: for example, Torquemada as already described, or "Mephisto" with fairly obvious devilish overtones.  Others are chosen for logical but less obvious reasons, though "Dinmutz" (Bert Danher in the ''Financial Times'') was produced by random selection of [[Scrabble]] tiles.

;''The Daily Telegraph/Sunday Telegraph''
:The ''Telegraph'', like the ''Times'', does not identify the setter of each puzzle but, unlike the ''Times'', has a regular setter for each day of the week, plus a few occasional setters to cover holidays or sickness. Regular setters include John Halpern, Ray Terrell, Jeremy Mutch, Don Manley, Allan Smith, Steve Bartlett and Richard Palmer. The regular setters as of 1 November 2006 are shown in a photograph [http://www.crossword.org.uk/valgilbert.htm here]. The crossword editor is Chris Lancaster, who took over from Phil McNeill in early 2018.  There is an advanced cryptic called Enigmatic Variations in the ''Sunday Telegraph'', and also a 15×15 blocked-grid puzzle.

:In September 2008 the ''Telegraph'' started printing a 'Toughie' crossword as well as the daily puzzle, from Tuesday to Friday.  This is described by the paper as "the toughest crossword in Fleet Street" or similar and does include the setter's pseudonym.  Comments from some solvers on these puzzles don't always agree with this assessment, rating maybe half of them as close to average broadsheet cryptic difficulty.

;''The Guardian''
:Notable compilers of ''[[The Guardian]]'''s cryptic crosswords include Enigmatist, Pasquale, Paul (John Halpern), Rufus (now retired), and [[Bob Smithies]] (Bunthorne) and [[Araucaria (compiler)|Araucaria]]. The puzzle is edited by [[Alan Connor]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/crossword-blog/2023/dec/04/crossword-blog-time-to-take-stock|first=Alan|last=Connor|date=4 December 2023|title=Crossword blog: time to take stock|accessdate=29 May 2024|newspaper=The Guardian|archive-date=3 July 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240703124940/https://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/crossword-blog/2023/dec/04/crossword-blog-time-to-take-stock|url-status=live}}</ref>

;''The Independent''
:''The Independent'' went online only in 2016, but still has a cryptic crossword. Setters include Virgilius, Dac, Phi, Quixote, Nimrod, Monk, Nestor, Bannsider, Anax, Merlin, Mass, Math, Morph, Scorpion, Tees and Punk ([[John Halpern]]).  The daily puzzle is edited by Eimi (Mike Hutchinson).

;''i''
:The ''i'' newspaper was launched in 2010 as a sister paper to The Independent, but was bought by Johnston Press in February 2016 when The Independent moved to digital-only publication. The fiendish Inquisitor puzzle is edited by John Henderson whose predecessor was a former ''Times'' crossword editor, Mike Laws. The crosswords are often themed and may contain a Nina: a hidden feature.

;''The National''
:Launched in Scotland as "The Newspaper that supports an independent Scotland" on 24 November 2014 after the independence referendum on 18 September. The National has a daily cryptic crossword after a request from readers to include one. The National is the only daily pro-independence newspaper in Scotland and is edited by Sunday Herald editor Richard Walker.

;''The Observer''
:Home of the famous [[Azed]] crossword, which employs a barred grid and a wider vocabulary than standard cryptics, and in conjunction with its predecessors 'Torquemada' and 'Ximenes' is the longest-running series of barred-grid puzzles. On the first Sunday of every month and at Christmas, Azed runs a clue-writing competition, via which many of today's top compilers have learnt their trade. ''The Observer'' also features a standard cryptic crossword, the Everyman, compiled by Allan Scott.

;''Private Eye''
:In the early 1970s the satirical magazine ''[[Private Eye]]'' had a crossword set by the Labour MP [[Tom Driberg]], under the pseudonym of "Tiresias" (supposedly "a distinguished academic churchman"). It is currently set by Eddie James under the name "Cyclops". This crossword is usually topical, and contains material varying from risqué to rude, in clues, answers and the solver's head; much of the rudeness is by innuendo.{{Citation needed|date=March 2009}} It also often includes references to the content of the rest of the magazine, or its jargon in which, for example, the current monarch of the UK is "Brian" and the last one "Brenda". The £100 prize for the first correct solution opened is unusually high for a crossword and attracts many entrants.{{Citation needed|date=March 2009}}

;''The Radio Times''
:Roger Prebble has compiled the cryptic crossword since 1999.

;''Significance''
:[[Significance (magazine)|''Significance'']] is a joint publication between the American Statistical Association and the Royal Statistical Society; it contains a cryptic crossword in its puzzle section.  The magazine offers a randomly awarded $150 or £100 to spend on [[John Wiley & Sons|Wiley]] books for those that submit a correct entry.

;''The Spectator''
:Cryptics in the weekly ''[[The Spectator|Spectator]]'' often have a specific theme, such as a tribute to a public figure who has died recently or a historic event that has its anniversary this week. As in most British periodicals, the cryptic in the ''Spectator'' is numbered: in the ''Spectator'''s case, a puzzle's theme may be related to its specific number (such as a historic event that occurred in the year corresponding to the four-digit number of the puzzle for that week). Compilers include Doc (the puzzle editor as well as chief setter), Dumpynose (an anagram for 'Pseudonym') and Columba.

;''The Sunday Times''
:''[[The Sunday Times]]'' cryptic crossword is compiled in rotation by three setters: Jeff Pearce, Dean Mayer and David McLean, the latter taking over from Tim Moorey in January 2016. (Mr Moorey's final puzzle included the hidden message 'Farewell from Tim'; he continues to set Mephisto puzzles.) The position of puzzles editor is now held by Peter Biddlecombe. Until her retirement in December 2010, Barbara Hall was puzzles editor for 32 years, and wrote about half the paper's cryptic crosswords. The ''Sunday Times'' is also home to the difficult barred-grid Mephisto puzzle, currently set in rotation by Don Manley, Paul McKenna and Tim Moorey. Previous Mephisto setters were Richard Kilner (only setter, 1959 to 1973), Richard Whitelegg (only setter, 1973 to 1995), Chris Feetenby (1995-2008) and Mike Laws (1995-2011).<ref>The Sunday Times Mephisto Crossword Book 1, 2003 - Introduction</ref>

;''The Times''
:[[Adrian Bell]] was the first to set [[The Times|The ''Times'']] crossword from 1930<ref>{{cite news | url=http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/games_and_puzzles/article5976721.ece | work=The Times | location=London | title=The Times crossword the man who began it all | first=Oliver | last=Kamm | date=2009-03-26 | access-date=2010-04-30 | archive-date=16 June 2011 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110616214050/http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/games_and_puzzles/article5976721.ece | url-status=dead }}</ref> and was one of those responsible for establishing its distinctive cryptic style. (The ''Times'' was a relatively late adopter: the ''Telegraph'' crossword started in 1925, and the ''Guardian'' in 1929.) The ''Times'' has a team of about 15 setters, many of whom set puzzles for other papers.  The setter of each puzzle is not identified.  The ''Times'' also has "jumbo" (23×23) puzzles in the Saturday edition and since 1991 has provided a home for the famously difficult advanced cryptic puzzle which used to appear in the [[BBC]]'s ''[[The Listener (magazine)|The Listener]]''.

:The daily ''Times'' puzzle is syndicated in the ''New York Post'' (US) and ''The Australian'' (Aus) papers.  In both cases, the puzzle appears some weeks after it appeared in ''The Times''.
:
:The ''Times'' introduced the Quick Cryptic crossword on March 24, 2014.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Rogan |first=Richard |date=2023-08-14 |title=Times crosswords: introducing the new Quick Cryptic |newspaper=[[The Times]] |language=en |url=https://www.thetimes.com/article/times-crosswords-introducing-the-new-quick-cryptic-gj6fk59cfkh |access-date=2023-08-14 |issn=0140-0460 |archive-date=14 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230814095449/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/times-crosswords-introducing-the-new-quick-cryptic-gj6fk59cfkh |url-status=live }}</ref> It is a smaller and easier version of the paper's main daily cryptic crossword, and is designed to be more accessible to beginners and those who want a quicker challenge. The Quick Cryptic is 13x13 squares in size, compared to the main cryptic's 15x15, and uses simpler wordplay. It also features semi-anonymous setters, so you can see who created the puzzle but not their real name.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Times Crosswords |url=https://bestforpuzzles.com/people/the-times.html#:~:text=Introduced%20in%20March%202014,%20the,but%20feel%20daunted%20by%20it. |access-date=2023-08-14 |website=bestforpuzzles.com |archive-date=2 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231002181528/https://bestforpuzzles.com/people/the-times.html#:~:text=Introduced%20in%20March%202014,%20the,but%20feel%20daunted%20by%20it. |url-status=live }}</ref>

:In October 2007, ''[[The Bugle]]''&mdash;a TimesOnline podcast by [[John Oliver (comedian)|John Oliver]] and [[Andy Zaltzman]]&mdash;introduced the first, revolutionary "Audio Cryptic Crossword."<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.thetimes.com/travel/destinations/africa-travel/south-africa/cape-town/the-bugle-audio-crossword-dxkd8bfspwk |title=The Bugle Audio Crossword |publisher=The Times UK |access-date=30 April 2019 |archive-date=30 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190430053559/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/the-bugle-audio-crossword-dxkd8bfspwk |url-status=live }}</ref>

;''Viz'' magazine
:Since 2009 the adult comic magazine ''Viz'' has incorporated a cryptic crossword credited to Anus. This is a collaboration of two setters, one of whom has a minor role in supplying some pre-written clues. In keeping with the comic's "top shelf" status the puzzle content is an amalgam of humour and obscenity, although the clueing style retains both Libertarian and Ximenean disciplines.

=== Elsewhere ===
;''The Age'' (Australia)
:(see ''Sydney Morning Herald'')

;''The Atlantic'' (US)
:''[[The Atlantic]]'' magazine had a long-running variety cryptic crossword, known as the Puzzler, created by Emily Cox and Henry Rathvon beginning in 1977,<ref>{{cite news|url= http://wordplay.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/11/08/acrostic/|title= Acrostic Creators|author= Horne, Jim|date= 8 November 2008|work= Wordplay: The Crossword Blog of The New York Times|access-date= 21 October 2009|archive-date= 22 August 2009|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090822080950/http://wordplay.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/11/08/acrostic/|url-status= live}}</ref> available only online since March 2006. The final original Puzzler was published in August 2009 for the September issue. An online archive of Puzzlers going back to 1997 is still available.<ref>{{Cite web|url= https://www.theatlantic.com/past/docs/issues/puzzler/puzzler.htm|title= The Puzzler: Sections|author1= [[Henry Rathvon|Rathvon, Henry]]|author2= [[Emily Cox (puzzle writer)|Cox, Emily]]|date= 13 August 2009|work= [[The Atlantic]]|publisher= The Atlantic Monthly Group|access-date= 1 July 2015|archive-date= 22 June 2015|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150622053223/http://www.theatlantic.com/past/docs/issues/puzzler/puzzler.htm|url-status= live}}</ref>

;''The Browser''  (US)
:This online news-aggregator offers a weekly American cryptic to its subscribers.

;''Games World of Puzzles'' (US)
:Originally two separate publications, "GAMES" and "World of Puzzles", the two were merged in 2014 to become "GAMES WORLD OF PUZZLES," published nine times a year.  The publication currently features two basic cryptics and two variety cryptics in each issue.  Some other puzzles in the publication include cryptic elements, such as double definition puzzles or hidden word puzzles.

;''The Globe and Mail'' (Canada)
:"Canada's national newspaper" includes a daily cryptic somewhat less difficult than its British cousins.  The crossword also comes with another set of "Quick Clues" (American-style) which provide a completely different set of answers. Fraser Simpson compiles the Saturday cryptic;{{sfnp|Cox|Rathvon|1995|p=263}} he also used to compile an advanced cryptic in ''The Walrus''.  Until 2015, once a year on [[Canada Day]], ''The Globe'' published a large 24×24 bar-diagram cryptic.
'''''The Geraldine News (New Zealand)'''''
:This weekly local paper carries a cryptic once a month. It is compiled by Geraldine resident Jim Walton and titled JW Cryptic Crossword. As at April 2019, Jim had provided 244 cryptic crosswords for the paper.

;''Harper's'' (US)
:This magazine features a monthly variety cryptic by [[Richard Maltby, Jr.]], and previously also by E. R. Galli, aimed at advanced solvers.{{sfnp|Cox|Rathvon|1995|p=264}}

;''The Hindu'' (India)
:''[[The Hindu]]'' newspaper carries cryptic crosswords in the main paper from Monday to Saturday, and a much tougher Sunday Crossword in the Sunday Magazine supplement. The weekday crosswords are set by setters with the pseudonyms Gridman, Arden, Incognito, Afterdark, Buzzer, Neyartha, Scintillator, xChequer, Lightning, Sunnet, Spinner, Aspartame, Mac, Dr. X, KrisKross, Hypatia among others.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://thehinducrosswordcorner.blogspot.in/p/thc-setters.html|title=THE HINDU CROSSWORD CORNER: THC Setters|access-date=16 July 2015|archive-date=16 July 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150716233859/http://thehinducrosswordcorner.blogspot.in/p/thc-setters.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In every cycle, a setter publishes a certain number of crosswords allotted to him or her, unlike British papers where things are mostly random. The Sunday Crossword is a syndicated crossword from the UK newspaper ''[[The Observer]]''.

:The first setter of the Monday-Saturday cryptic crosswords was Retired Admiral [[Ram Dass Katari]] of the Indian Navy,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.crosswordunclued.com/2012/10/admiral-katari-hindu-crossword-setter.html|title=Remembering Admiral Katari, the first crossword setter of The Hindu|access-date=16 July 2015|archive-date=16 July 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150716235952/http://www.crosswordunclued.com/2012/10/admiral-katari-hindu-crossword-setter.html|url-status=live}}</ref> who took up the task in 1971 at the request of [[Gopalan Kasturi]], then editor of ''[[The Hindu]]''. The crossword has a regular following, and while ''The Hindu'' publishes the solutions on the following day, the annotated solution is put up at the website '[http://thehinducrosswordcorner.blogspot.in/ The Hindu Crossword Corner]' by a group of solvers on the same day.

;''Irish Times''
:The ''Irish Times'' originally provided a daily puzzle by "[[Crosaire]]" (Derek Crozier), which featured a fairly unorthodox style of clue-writing. The paper continued to run his puzzles after his death in April 2010. The last of Crozier's crosswords was published in the ''Irish Times'' on 22 October 2011. The ''Irish Times''' cryptic crossword is currently set by Crosaire's successor Crosheir.<ref>{{cite news|last=Gillespie|first=Elgy|title=Carrying the Crosaire|url=http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/magazine/2011/1022/1224306043431.html|newspaper=The Irish Times|access-date=22 October 2011|date=22 October 2011|archive-date=22 October 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111022165814/http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/magazine/2011/1022/1224306043431.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

;''The Listener'' (New Zealand)
:This weekly magazine includes a cryptic by David Tossman, who took over from RWH (Ruth Hendry) in 1997. RWH had been providing a mixed (some cryptic clues) puzzle since 1940.

;''Lovatts Crosswords''
:Lovatts Crosswords are a range of magazines sold throughout the UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. Christine Lovatt is the main cryptic compiler, and she has been so for 30 years.

;''The Nation'' (US)
:This liberal American political weekly featured a weekly cryptic puzzle from 1947 to 2020. [[Frank W. Lewis]] wrote the puzzle from late 1947 until his retirement in late 2009.  Lewis developed one of the most recognizably personal styles of cryptic setting, and ''The Nation'' published book collections of his puzzles.  From December 2011, the weekly puzzle was written by Joshua Kosman and Henri Picciotto. Their last cryptic for the magazine was published in March 2020.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Kosman |first1=Joshua |author-link1=Joshua Kosman |last2=Picciotto |first2=Henri |title=No Cross Words |url=https://www.thenation.com/article/culture/no-cross-words/ |access-date=1 August 2020 |work=The Nation |date=19 March 2020 |archive-date=14 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200614101917/https://www.thenation.com/article/culture/no-cross-words/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Kosman and Picciotto continue to offer a weekly cryptic at their website leftfieldcryptics.com.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Birnholz |first1=Evan |title=Solution to Evan Birnholz's May 3 Post Magazine crossword, "Disbanded" |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/magazine/2020/05/03/solution-evan-birnholzs-may-3-post-magazine-crossword-disbanded/ |newspaper=Washington Post |date=May 3, 2020 |url-access=subscription |access-date=12 June 2021 |archive-date=2 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200802023710/https://www.washingtonpost.com/magazine/2020/05/03/solution-evan-birnholzs-may-3-post-magazine-crossword-disbanded/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Gold22"/>{{rp|35}}

;''The National Post'' (Canada)
:Carries a weekly puzzle by [[Emily Cox (compiler)|Emily Cox]] and [[Henry Rathvon]].

;''New York Magazine''
:[[Stephen Sondheim]]'s puzzles for ''[[New York Magazine]]'' have been collected in book form. Sondheim is himself a collector of old-time puzzles and board games.

;''New Yorker''
:For some of the time that this magazine was edited by Tina Brown (1997–1999), it included a small (8×10) barred-grid cryptic crossword, set by a range of American and Canadian setters.  These puzzles are also available in a book collection,<ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=Simpson |editor1-first=Fraser |title=101 Cryptic Crosswords: From ''The New Yorker'' |date=2001 |publisher=Sterling |location=New York |isbn=0-8069-0186-1}}</ref> and were republished online.<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Henriquez |first1=Nicholas |last2=Maynes-Aminzade |first2=Liz |title=Reintroducing The New Yorker's Cryptic Crossword |url=https://www.newyorker.com/puzzles-and-games-dept/cryptic-crossword/reintroducing-the-new-yorkers-cryptic-crossword |magazine=The New Yorker |date=26 November 2019 |access-date=31 March 2022 |archive-date=21 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220121001402/https://www.newyorker.com/puzzles-and-games-dept/cryptic-crossword/reintroducing-the-new-yorkers-cryptic-crossword |url-status=live }}</ref>
:Starting in June of 2021, a new cryptic is published each week on Sunday. It uses the same 8x10 barred-grid.<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Henriquez |first1=Nicholas |last2=Maynes-Aminzade |first2=Liz |last3=Kravis |first3=Andy |title=Announcing an All-New Weekly Cryptic Crossword from The New Yorker |url=https://www.newyorker.com/puzzles-and-games-dept/cryptic-crossword/announcing-an-all-new-weekly-cryptic-crossword-from-the-new-yorker |magazine=The New Yorker |date=27 June 2021 |access-date=31 March 2022 |archive-date=28 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220928173002/https://www.newyorker.com/puzzles-and-games-dept/cryptic-crossword/announcing-an-all-new-weekly-cryptic-crossword-from-the-new-yorker |url-status=live }}</ref> ''The New Yorker'' stopped publishing cryptic crosswords in March 2024.<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Maynes-Aminzade |first1=Liz |title=Introducing the New Yorker Mini Crossword |url=https://www.newyorker.com/puzzles-and-games-dept/articles/introducing-the-new-yorker-mini-crossword |magazine=The New Yorker |date=18 March 2024 |quote=We’ll no longer publish a cryptic crossword on Sundays, but fans of the form can still access our archive of more than two hundred cryptics. |access-date=1 April 2024 |archive-date=1 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240401174519/https://www.newyorker.com/puzzles-and-games-dept/articles/introducing-the-new-yorker-mini-crossword |url-status=live }}</ref>

;''New York Times''
:Two weeks in every 18, the "variety puzzle" in the Sunday edition is a cryptic crossword, usually by [[Emily Cox (compiler)|Emily Cox]] and [[Henry Rathvon]], Richard Silvestri, or Fraser Simpson.  One week in 18, it is a "Puns and Anagrams" puzzle, a relic of a 1940s attempt to introduce cryptic puzzles to the US.

;''The New Zealand Herald'' (Auckland, New Zealand)
:The weekend edition features a cryptic crossword by "Kropotkin" (Rex Benson) in addition to The Observer's 'Everyman'.<ref>New Zealand Herald</ref> Rex died in 2019 but older Kropotkins are still published.

;''Ottawa Citizen''
:The ''Ottawa Citizen'' has carried a weekly puzzle by Susannah Sears since 2001.

;''Sydney Daily Telegraph''
:Prints the "Stickler" puzzle, set by David Stickley.

;''Sydney Morning Herald'' and ''The Age'' (Australia)
:[[Fairfax Media]] papers, ''[[The Sydney Morning Herald]]'' and ''[[The Age]]'', print a daily puzzle, which was also available free on-line until 31 August 2009. Various compilers (setters) compose the puzzles, each being indicated by their initials. As of November 2013, compilers from Monday to Saturday include LR (Liam Runnalls), RM (Rose McGinley), DP (David Plomley), DH (Donald Harrison), NS (Nancy Sibtain), DA ([[David Astle]]), and DS (David Sutton).

;''The Toronto Star'' (Canada)
:Includes a cryptic crossword from the Sunday Times in the Saturday edition in the Puzzles section.  Friday and Sunday papers each have a different cryptic by Caroline Andrews.

;''The Wall Street Journal'' (US)
:Starting in January 2010, ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]'' publishes a variety cryptic by [[Emily Cox (puzzle writer)|Emily Cox]] and [[Henry Rathvon]] every four weeks.<ref name="Shenk_Blue-Chip"/>