The solution to my December Cyptish Crossword can be viewed here.

The grid was still a little blocky, so a few clues can be fully “solved” just by solving all the cross-clues. Something to try and improve in future grids. My next grid is filled, with a little light theming too. Not sure if it’ll be my next Cryptish though, as I may try to find a nice home for it elsewhere.

Meanwhile, back at the December puzzle, there were a few clues I’d had saved up that fitted in here. One clue had a trap. I wonder if anyone fell into it. A reasonable range of clue-types, I think, and I don’t think I overused any one type this time. Possibly I even underused one type. Hey-ho, that’s variation for you. I liked 42A and 37D. A little light reaction on Twitter.

[Edit: This is one of my early crosswords, where the clue “surfaces” don’t always make sense. Links may now be broken. Sorry about all that. 🙂 While my March-Sept 2019 puzzles are just about okay, they may have the odd sketchy surface, or unlovely grid. For “proper” cryptic puzzles, skip to October 2019 and onwards.]

Here’s my December puzzle.

I haven’t yet found a way to use Mac software to embed a solvable grid (that also works on iPads) in my blog. Let me know if you know how I can do that, please. (I’m using CrossFire.)

I’ve been wondering… should I explain my clues? After all, if I do a crossword in a newspaper, you don’t have the setter available for consultation afterwards. Just the solution posted a week later, from which you have to work out why the answers fit the clues. And if I do explain, will that mean people get to know my setting style quicker? …Rather than puzzling it out slowly as they go along. (Much as I’m doing myself!) Then again, there are blogs out there which explain some puzzle solutions. I’m not sure. I’m leaning towards silence.

Feel free to share the link or RT/Like/comment on Twitter, if you enjoy it.

The solution to my November Cryptish crossword can be viewed here.

I was reasonably happy with this one at first, but after I’d published it, I realised that I’d used one type of clue 6 times, which was probably too many. Also, 21D, 36D and 42D could all have been made a little better, I think. 41D and 44D were both fairly easy, but they raised a smile, I’m told. I originally had the clue for 1D as half as long, but decided that if you didn’t get the reference (which was already slightly veiled), there was no way of working it out (aside from guessing with the checked letters), so I added the second half.
25D was probably my favourite.

Unfortunately it only got to 4 retweets, so I withdrew the prize offer. But on the plus side, I did get some interest on twitter. Thanks retweeters, and it was also good to hear from Helen, Anna & Richard that they were having a go. (I think you finished it, Richard?) I did receive a completed grid from Mikey (who’s not on Twitter) by email, but he had solved 7A as “Lan”. Actually, it’s a good solve of the clue (and one I hadn’t thought of), as it’s inside “garland”, and can be argued to be a circle. Unfortunately, that makes another clue end up incorrect. Mikey did work it out though.

I’m working on my next one. The grid’s completed, but only a couple of clues are written so far. I might release it this week.

[Edit: This is one of my early crosswords, where the clue “surfaces” don’t always make sense. Links may now be broken. Sorry about all that. 🙂 While my March-Sept 2019 puzzles are just about okay, they may have the odd sketchy surface, or unlovely grid. For “proper” cryptic puzzles, skip to October 2019 and onwards.]

Well, I might not be getting much feedback, but at least I’m still enjoying setting crosswords. I also started following a few more setters and crossword bloggers on twitter. Hmmm, there’s a hell of a lot of crossword talk out there. I’m not sure how interested I am in reading it though. I suppose I’ll get sucked in, and I’d better be ready to admit that I’ve still got a lot to learn.

Meanwhile, here’s another one with a £5 bounty for charity. As I type, the prize is currently still available, so go get it, follow and retweet. Then solve it!

[Edit:removed].

Solution one week after the 5th RT happens.

Right, that’s this blog up to date. Give me a shout on twitter if any of this is of any interest.
Cheers!

[Edit: This is one of my early crosswords, where the clue “surfaces” don’t always make sense. Links may now be broken. Sorry about all that. 🙂 While my March-Sept 2019 puzzles are just about okay, they may have the odd sketchy surface, or unlovely grid. For “proper” cryptic puzzles, skip to October 2019 and onwards.]

With an unclaimed prize for the last one, I thought I’d offer it again. C’mon people, its for charideee!
Back to a 15×15 grid this time. Felt like this one was alright. Not too hard,… let’s see if it gets the RTs.

It did, just.
Right-click, Save>Print.

Again, no-one sent me a solve within the week. Hey ho. I obviously don’t have enough cruciverbalist followers… yet.

Solution is [edit: gone].

[Edit: This is one of my early crosswords, where the clue “surfaces” don’t always make sense. Links may now be broken. Sorry about all that. 🙂 While my March-Sept 2019 puzzles are just about okay, they may have the odd sketchy surface, or unlovely grid. For “proper” cryptic puzzles, skip to October 2019 and onwards.]

I’d had a brief chat on Twitter with Everyman, who kindly gave me some feedback on my July puzzle. He said he particularly liked some of the clues, didn’t quite get a couple of references (but got the clues anyway). Also gave me a few words of wisdom, so thanks Colin!
Buoyed, I offered a prize again (a whole fiver!) for August’s puzzle, if it got to 5 retweets. It did after a couple of days, but no-one solved it within the week. The grid was symmetric, but denser and larger (17×17). Maybe that made it harder, but also I think that a few of the clues needed a bit more work, to be more pleasing, but, hey, no-one’s paying me to do this. 🙂
Right-click to save, then print.

Answers are [edit: gone].

[Edit: This is one of my early crosswords, where the clue “surfaces” don’t always make sense. Links may now be broken. Sorry about all that. 🙂 While my March-Sept 2019 puzzles are just about okay, they may have the odd sketchy surface, or unlovely grid. For “proper” cryptic puzzles, skip to October 2019 and onwards.]

I had some feedback on my June puzzle from a twitterer who I’d been talking to about possibly submitting a crossword for a magazine he was starting.
– Don’t have references that are too obscure
– Avoid 2s
– Symmetrical grids are preferred.
– Indirect anagrams are a bit frowned on.
He also told me he liked quite a few of the clues, and my style (which was different from his). That was nice, and encouraging. So with that in mind, I knocked up my July puzzle. No prize offered this time. This one felt more like a “proper” cryptic to me, with a tidier grid, and clues that conformed to The Rules better.
Save image>Print, etc.

Answers are [edit: gone].

[Edit: This is one of my early crosswords, where the clue “surfaces” don’t always make sense. Links may now be broken. Sorry about all that. 🙂 While my March-Sept 2019 puzzles are just about okay, they may have the odd sketchy surface, or unlovely grid. For “proper” cryptic puzzles, skip to October 2019 and onwards.]

I was on a roll, so only a week after the last one, I made a crossword with a county cricket theme. Niche? Sure, but why not.
The grid’s a bit skew-whiff, but I was having fun fitting in as many references as I could. If you’re bowled over by it, do let me know.

This one’s a pdf. Download, etc.

Answers are [edit: gone].

A cricket blogger told me “if you do another one, I’d love to host it”. Hmmm, well, maybe if I’d had any comments, I might be inclined. Ah well, such is the way of twitter. 🙂

[Edit: This is one of my early crosswords, where the clue “surfaces” don’t always make sense. Links may now be broken. Sorry about all that. 🙂 While my March-Sept 2019 puzzles are just about okay, they may have the odd sketchy surface, or unlovely grid. For “proper” cryptic puzzles, skip to October 2019 and onwards.]

“Whaddya mean, ‘Cryptish’?”
Well, since I’d been breaking some rules, I thought maybe I can’t call my crosswords “cryptic”, so I’ll have a new name. This’ll do.
However, I did decide to try to stick to The Rules (as I was learning them). “Avoid 2s” was another one.

Here’s my next attempt. Smaller, 15×15 (which is a common size, apparently).
I decided to try out offering a small prize for the first correct solution via Twitter.
Right-click>Save image>Print [fit to page]

The answers are here, as supplied by the winner, @soozbury.

You can send me feedback, if you like via my twitter account.