Quizzes & Puzzles2 mins ago
Message to DTcrossword fan
21 Answers
DT - we talked about this the other day, when I was one clue away from finishing the Daily Crossword cryptic crossword...it was the nearest I've ever come to solving it.
Anyway...earlier this week....I FINALLY FINISHED ONE!!!
And then two days later...I finished another one.
I'm sure you'd like to join me in congratulating myself, because I now feel 'proper brainy'.
Anyway...earlier this week....I FINALLY FINISHED ONE!!!
And then two days later...I finished another one.
I'm sure you'd like to join me in congratulating myself, because I now feel 'proper brainy'.
Answers
Best Answer
No best answer has yet been selected by sp1814. Once a best answer has been selected, it will be shown here.
For more on marking an answer as the "Best Answer", please visit our FAQ.> Mark-Talbot..
> I'm talking about the Telegraph cryptic crossword, as M-T has correctly assumed.
Interesting. Are you hinting, or even implying, that you think Mick Talbot and I are the same person...?
> TheTimes crossword is LITERALLY impossible. Only the Stephens (Fry and Hawkins) have any chance of finishing that monster.
It's all relative, I suppose: http://tinypic.com/r/347b8mc/6
> I'm talking about the Telegraph cryptic crossword, as M-T has correctly assumed.
Interesting. Are you hinting, or even implying, that you think Mick Talbot and I are the same person...?
> TheTimes crossword is LITERALLY impossible. Only the Stephens (Fry and Hawkins) have any chance of finishing that monster.
It's all relative, I suppose: http://tinypic.com/r/347b8mc/6
I started trying Ximenes (or was it Toquemada?) in mid 1966.
I cracked my first clue not long before Christmas, and took around 12 months to complete one.
Nowadays I can tackle most puzzles with equanimity, EXCEPT The Listener. I can usually solve the clues, but the final adjustments tend to flummox me.
I suppose over time you build up methodology, and it gets to be like riding a bike (the legs hurt if you haven't ridden for a while).
I cracked my first clue not long before Christmas, and took around 12 months to complete one.
Nowadays I can tackle most puzzles with equanimity, EXCEPT The Listener. I can usually solve the clues, but the final adjustments tend to flummox me.
I suppose over time you build up methodology, and it gets to be like riding a bike (the legs hurt if you haven't ridden for a while).
Sorry MarkRae...I think I may have been affected by the wine that accompanied lunch yesterday!
ladybirder - with cryptic crosswords, I DEFINITELY think you improve the more that you do, because you begin to recognise the 'key word' which indicate whether there's an anagram embedded in the clue, or whether you need to look for abbreviations in the clue which form part of the answer.
It's a bit like learning a language.
Also, after a while, you can appreciate the 'elegance' of some clues.
There was one in the Telegraph a couple of weeks back that was literally beautiful. Hard to explain, but the compiler had used English in such a clever way as to make you stop and think, 'Wow'.
ladybirder - with cryptic crosswords, I DEFINITELY think you improve the more that you do, because you begin to recognise the 'key word' which indicate whether there's an anagram embedded in the clue, or whether you need to look for abbreviations in the clue which form part of the answer.
It's a bit like learning a language.
Also, after a while, you can appreciate the 'elegance' of some clues.
There was one in the Telegraph a couple of weeks back that was literally beautiful. Hard to explain, but the compiler had used English in such a clever way as to make you stop and think, 'Wow'.
When I was growing up, my old man had to buy two Times and two DTs for the house - my youngest sister could take both papers crosswords and complete them in between twenty to thirty minutes - for both of them. The second copy was for the rest of us! She was one of these kids who could multiply three dec points in her head........she should have been a code-breaker.
Related Questions
Sorry, we can't find any related questions. Try using the search bar at the top of the page to search for some keywords, or choose a topic and submit your own question.