July 2025 Prize Puzzle - Dame by Skylark

 Dame by Skylark

An extra letter in each clue should be removed before solving, which in the order given, spells out instructions for solvers.

Reading clockwise from the top left corner, the unclued border contains three works by the subject. It may be completed using the letters in: JEE, HYPE IS ASININE.

The Chambers Dictionary (2016) is the primary reference.

PDF copy

Across

9 Pass Indian tea again, skipping daughter (6)

10 Unhappy tramps beginning to hook fish (4)

11 Pete's conservative avoiding spice (4)

12 Southern inn reportedly hides dances (6)

14 Dry dropping dated amateur song (4) 

15 Rodent's fare I drag back (5)

16 Returning plunder, coast place for storing utensils (8, 2 words)

17 Regularly envoy lauds Roman name (5)

18 Narked, gently push German leaving (4)  

20 Drunk lamed sane sailor (8)

22 Ed's drawn Macbeth's dread hiding evil (7) 

26 Dull lover's form of dominoes (8)

28 Picture spoilt in centre by prisoner (4)

29 Select group's manager finally rested: ecstasy! (5)

31 Note Stokes blocking fast endures to the end (8, 2 words)

33 Francis entering permits sides (5)

35 Change Cuban wood (4)

36 Pace case regarding church vestibule (6)

37 Friend's oddly agile hiding shame ultimately (4) 

38 European shortened elderly nutter's uniform (4)

39 Heads second failure, accepting none backsliding (6)

Down

1 Tense avoiding stair, almost awaken fragrant (7) 

2 Will's husked nut, lord's covering top of meat (7)

3 Legal ease regularly protecting every roof's edges (5)

4 Told card game's shut (4)

5 Three sons walk in Paris (6)

6 Ring chief about new planet (8) 

7 Made of loose threads for locals, then? Strange (7)

8 Hurry Hess halving extreme dislike (5)

13 Litter's hidden by Jessie dancing (5)

19 Support cycle crossing top of gentry's street (8)

21 Suppresses special sherry-infused dessert, shun cut recipe (7)

23 Bald Carlos dismisses cold garret (5)

24 Fair accepting contralto for tenor's musical accompaniment (7) 

25 Grand topless accommodation's stirring (7)

27 Wandering about in countryside, chanting and grazing (6)

30 Quit acting, interrupting guests, shortly (5)

32 Married loiter forgetting rector's aims (5)

34 Scottish town supporting priest is suffering (4)

Entries

To enter this competition, input your solution into the website at https://cc.vellender.com before 8th August 2025. The first correct entry drawn from the hat will receive a book from the Chambers range, which has been donated by Chambers.

Crossword News June 2025

 

Crossword News June 2025

The May Prize Puzzle was Gig Economy. The theme was Barbeque 67, thought to be the first rock festival. The event was held in TULIP BULB AUCTION HALL in Spalding, given by extra letters in down clues. Solvers were to change 1a BOUTIQUE to BARBEQUE and highlight it along with the numbers 6 and 7. Solvers were also to change 16 letters so as to show six acts in the grid. I thought it was amazing that Wan fitted all six acts in the grid. CREAM, JIMI HENDRIX, GENO WASHINGTON, PINK F, FLOYD, ZOOT MONEY and MOVE.

Here are some of the comments from solvers.

After completing the grid, I still had no idea what the theme was, but luckily searching for the extra letters from the down clues online gave the Wikipedia article about the theme as the first result. I had solved the puzzle quite late in the month, so I wondered if my search results had been influenced by many others also searching for this phrase and then visiting the relevant page. I don't see how I could have worked out the theme without the helpful information.

I enjoyed the task of changing letters in the grid to make the names of the acts, and I liked that all new entries were real words even though it wasn't promised. I also liked that the changes made the final grid a pangram, even though I later realised that the thematic material in the grid is actually pangrammatic.

A well-crafted crossword with an endgame that taught me something. Who knew that the first rock festival was in the UK and not California. Thanks Wan.

Very nice puzzle - an interesting theme, good to find out about something completely new to me. The construction was also impressive to leave real words in the grid after the changes -- kudos to Wan.

There were 43 entries, of which 10 were marked incorrect. The lucky winner was Chris Chatwin, who will be receiving a copy of Chambers Crossword Dictionary. I am down to my last of the books that Chambers sent last year. At the moment I am doubtful whether the sponsorship will continue.

There is a solution at https://crosswordcentre.blogspot.com/2025/06/solution-to-gig-economy-by-wan.html

There is still time for you to solve the June Prize Puzzle, Current Affairs by Hedge-sparrow. https://crosswordcentre.blogspot.com/2025/05/june-2025-prize-puzzle-current-affairs.html

The July challenge will be Dame by Skylark. Skylark is from Stockport, has two children, who are now young adults, and loves reading, family fun and games. 

She wrote The Einstein Code, The Darwin Code and The Quantum Code for children before submitting her first crossword - and was amazed when The Times accepted it for a Listener.

***
The inaugural World Cryptic Crossword Championship (WCCC) 2025, organized by Extra-C, is rapidly approaching, promising to be a landmark event for cryptic crossword enthusiasts worldwide. Set to elevate the art of cryptic crosswords to a global stage, WCCC 2025 features both an online Individual Championship and an in-person Team Championship in London. 

Key Highlights:
Dates: The Individual Championship will be held online on June 28, 2025, followed by the Team Championship in London on June 29, 2025.
Star-Studded Participants: The WCCC is attracting top international talent. Invited participants representing their countries includes several recognized names such as:
England: Mark Goodliffe (Reigning Times Crossword Champion)
USA: Matthew Marcus (Times Crossword Champion 2023)
Australia: Philip Coote (Star performer in The Indian Crossword League)

Many others have signed up to participate as well and details of other invited participants will be revealed by the organizers in the coming days.

Registration & Eligibility: Participation in WCCC 2025 is seamlessly integrated with registration for ACAD Global, Extra-C's daily online international crossword challenge. Registration for ACAD Global is free and mandatory for both WCCC championships. Solvers can register at https://acadglobal.crypticsingh.com/registration. ACAD Global serves as excellent practice for the WCCC.

Individual Championship (Online):
Date & Time: June 28, 2025, 1 PM – 2 PM (GMT) on www.crypticsingh.com.
Format: Two cryptic crosswords, each to be completed within 30 minutes.
Prizes: $1000 for 1st place, $500 for 2nd, and $250 for 3rd.

Team Championship (WCCC World Cup – London, In-Person):
Date & Time: June 29, 2025, 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM GMT at Nehru Centre, 8 South Audley Street, London.
Prizes: $1500 for 1st place, $1000 for 2nd, and $500 for 3rd.
Eligibility: Invited Country Representatives and open Challenger Participants who have registered for ACAD Global.
Format: A preliminary written round, followed by an on-stage final for the top solvers, featuring cold solving cryptic crossword clues in a quiz format.

This promises to be a thrilling event, bringing together the best minds in cryptic crosswords from around the globe. Don't miss it.
***
I often watch Simon Anthony and Mark Goodliffe solving sudokus on their Cracking the Cryptic YouTube channel. Simon now solves the Friday Times crossword which has become more and more difficult.

Cracking the Cryptic is increasingly popular with just short of 650,000 subscribers. They now have an on-line store where you can buy tee-shirts and mugs.
https://www.youtube.com/@CrackingTheCryptic/store
***
Does solving crosswords increase your cognitive abilities? A Guardian article from a few months ago was about 98 year-old Miriam Raphael, whose daily crossword solving keeps her young. You can read the article here.

Best wishes
Derek

 

 

 

Solution to Gig Economy by Wan

 Solution to Gig Economy by Wan

The theme is Barbeque 67, thought to be the first rock festival. The event was held in TULIP BULB AUCTION HALL in Spalding, given by extra letters in down clues. Solvers were to change 1a BOUTIQUE to BARBEQUE and highlight it along with numbers 6 and 7. Solvers were also to change 16 letters so as to show six acts in the grid…

CREAM

JIMI HENDRIX

GENO WASHINGTON

PINK FLOYD

ZOOT MONEY

MOVE

 

June 2025 Prize Puzzle - Current Affairs by Hedge-Sparrow

 Current Affairs by Hedge-Sparrow

Crossing entries clash in four cells.  The retained letters (giving real words across and down), in normal reading order, indicate the theme, giving directions for completing the unclued entries.  In the filled grid, solvers must highlight four more symmetrically-placed thematic examples (28 cells in total).

PDF version

Across

1 English gentleman turns up (4)

6 Unclued (6)

11 Stone implements chanced upon in Oxford, perhaps, heading west (7)

12 Temples where the Muses dwelt, largely destroyed (4)

13 Wrote animatedly, making a couple of points? (5)

14 Musée, not the first to include English artist’s work (6)

15 Repellent American breaking sailor’s bones (6)

17 University rower going around deposit at edge of lake (4)

18 Open prison, we hear, is child’s play (6)

20 Gull tucking into fish and N. Atlantic gulfweed (8)

21 Recreate lost item when programme’s broadcast (8, two words)

25 Potato pancakes, almost the hottest around Cambodia (6)

27 Edible tuber making a comeback in laboratory (4)

29 Very special purple fruit (6)

32 After opening of emporium, I flog out-of-date vinegar (6)

33 Heavy truck one mired in fen broke in the end (5)

34 Delay over start of Autumn fair (4)

35 American river – a river once more flowing from the east (7)

36 Unclued (6)

37 Affectionately greet a thousand saints crossing island (4)

Down

1 Unclued (6)

2 Palm oil at first infuses a little bit (4)

3 Jingle bells heartily ring, borne by mounted horses (6)

4 What Ian may clutch at before being beset by a lot of anxiety (6)

5 Discreet, graceful undergarments ultimately protect bust – they provide uplift (8)

7 Fast runner, entering marathon, ends up passing all but the leaders (4)

8 Sanctuary in bliss, the first earth having passed away (5)

9 Laugh about Rector and his converting of English city (7)

10 Almost emit tears under right lash (4)

15 Drink spirit in state capital (6)

16 Sing in jazz style with tenor and soprano making historic tributes (6)

18 Protein for thin layer of bone that’s reduced (8)

19 Record’s operatic song drowned by racket (7)

22 Beta test keeps referring to race (6)

23 Indian antelope, ailing badly (6)

24 Unclued (6)

26 Vehicle unit (5)

28 Shut up top-floor flat (4)

30 Bring up son of Miss Black (4)

31 Hedge-sparrow, for one, whispered hoarsely on the telephone (4)

Entries
To enter this competition, input your solution into the website at https://cc.vellender.com before 8th July 2025. The first correct entry drawn from the hat will receive a book from the Chambers range, which has been donated by Chambers.

Crossword News May 2025

 

Crossword News May 2025

The April Prize Puzzle was Tan Goes so Stripey by Vismut. This tiger-themed puzzle proved to be tricky. The titles are LIFE OF PI, THE JUNGLE BOOK and WINNIE THE POOH, the brand is FROSTIES all off which feature tigers. RICHARD PARKER, SHERE KHAN, TIGGER and TONY. The title is another tiger and brand TANGO ESSO. The message from the down clues is GRID ORANGE FOUR NAMES BLACK and the first letters of these down clues read TIGERS CAN ROAR BUT CAN’T PURR.

Here are some of the comments from solvers.

Many thanks, Vismut. An amusing puzzle where the level of difficulty was boosted by the use of some of the less frequently visited corners of Chambers, and the merging of titles from the across clues. I did feel the title was a jumble of something but couldn't figure out what. The new submission method was taken advantage of with the requirement to highlight the full grid.

A brilliant puzzle, resulting in a beautiful tiger (especially when coloured by Excel!). Two cluing devices, with redundant words and emerging extra letters deviously concealed by excellent clues maintained a high level of challenge from start to finish. The theme was beautifully exploited. The link of the tiger might have emerged earlier for me if I'd tried picking out the message from the across clues before I'd identified all the redundant words.

When I first read the preamble, I wasn't sure how the titles were going to be merged, and assumed that 'how and which cells to fill' meant filling with letters rather than colour, but after I had filled most of the top half of the grid I could see how FROSTIES and LIFE OF PI were merged from the early extra words, and also GRID ORANGE was presumably something to do with colouring in. After this I tried to guess the extra words from the Across clues I hadn't solved, saw the other two titles, and realised that each of them contained a tiger. It took me a little while to notice I had TIGGER and the start of RICHARD PARKER in the grid, and it helped me a little to guess where SHERE KHAN and TONY could appear. I can see the word 'Stripey' in the title could be related to the stripes depicted in the grid, but apart from that I have no idea what it is supposed to mean. I can see how 'administered drug' could be a definition for DOCTORED in 3d, but I don't like it with the words the other way around. As for 41a, the only meaning of DARKLE I can find is 'to become dark' or maybe 'to be dark' so I don't see how to get a definition out of 'as light lowers'.

There were 49 entries, of which 7 were marked incorrect. The lucky winner is Ian Hickman who will be receiving a prize of a copy of the Chambers Crossword Dictionary which was donated by Chambers.

The new entry method worked well, although, perhaps we should have started with a puzzle that did not demand so much shading. Although there were some negative comments, most of the solvers were happy with the entry method.

There is a solution at https://crosswordcentre.blogspot.com/2025/05/solution-to-tan-goes-so-stripey-by.html

You still have time to solve the May crossword, Gig Economy by Wan. https://crosswordcentre.blogspot.com/2025/04/crossword-centre-prize-puzzle-may-2025.html

The June Prize Puzzle will be Current Affairs by Hedge-sparrow.
We always welcome submissions for later months.
***
The lunch to celebrate Azed’s 2750^th publication was held at Wolfson College, Oxford, on Saturday. I was not there but watched the speeches via Zoom. One of the best reports with photos is on the Clue Clinic. https://www.clueclinic.com/index.php/2025/05/06/azed-2750-lunch/

Many more photos are on the FaceBook Crossword Centre page.

At the end of the speeches, Don Manley was able to receive the Azed Cup for his winning clue to DRAUGHT-HOUSE (a privy) in the April competition.

 Urine had to gush out – in this?
 (comp. anag. & lit.)

All of the clues submitted are available in the latest Azed Slip.
http://www.crossword.org.uk/Azedslip.html
***
The Observer has been taken over by Tortoise Media. For the moment the Azed and Everyman crosswords continue to be available for free. The possibility of a future paywall has not been ruled out. I have changed the link on the Crossword Centre https://observer.co.uk/crossword
***
The Latin O Tempora! crossword in The Times has recently recorded its 500^th puzzle. An incredible achievement. Congratulations!
***

A shorter newsletter this month, but Lois and I are off for a holiday in Kos next week and I wanted to post it before we go.

Best wishes
Derek

 

 

Solution to Tan Goes So Stripey by Vismut

 Tan Goes So Stripey by Vismut - Solution

The titles are LIFE OF PI, THE JUNGLE BOOK and WINNIE THE POOH, the brand is FROSTIES all off which feature tigers. RICHARD PARKER, SHERE KHAN, TIGGER and TONY. The title is another tiger and brand TANGO ESSO. The message from the down clues is GRID ORANGE FOUR NAMES BLACK and the first letters of these down clues read TIGERS CAN ROAR BUT CAN’T PURR.

Crossword Centre Prize Puzzle May 2025 Gig Economy by Wan

 Gig Economy by Wan

36 clues include an extra letter in the wordplay part of the clue which much be removed to enable solving. The extra letters in across clues tell solvers a) what should be shown by changing one entry and highlighting it along with two entry numbers and b) what should be shown in the grid by changing a further 16 cells. The extra letters in down clues provide helpful information.

PDF copy

Across

  1 Stint in Quebec shop (8)

  6 Unwell after eating one food (5)

10 A rival shortened name for Lady Gaga? (5) 

13 Too advanced, ahead of orchestra (4)

14 Sword happens to be returned with note (4)

15 Need to burst into short tremulous sound for shoot (7)

16 Player leaving arena desperate to come back (5)

17 Tires breaking twigs in the sticks (4)

18 Birds coming from the east for about two pounds (4)

20 Rhino in SA, lost among trees (5)

21 Rejecting hospital where fangs might be lost (6)

22 Spain native plugging drugs sensing device (5)

23 Dick contributing to gooey mess (3)

24 Heard to break stiff back in golf driving violently (7)

26 Young louse returned money (3)

27 Pulls apart snail, putting head at the rear (5)

31 US main deputy cleared on number for cipher (6)

33 Ruby repaired old box (5)

37 Fashion display putting second half first (4)

38 See uncooked animal's stomach (4)

39 Hero avoided lust going west, that is excellent (5)

40 Crushed cans look painted? (7)

41 Saving skin, twit without tissue gets small bunch of straw (4)

42 Wealthy grass's shot for ecstasy (4)

43 Bats need iodine compound (5)

44 Arsenal winger takes time for Hindu worshipper (5)

45 Begs for food after rent reforms (8)

Down

  1 Part of Cuba's trapped port city (5)

  2 Windows OS causes topsy-turvy lesson (6)

  3 A-list lout in evening dress (5)

  4 Keyboards people try, defective in sufficient quantity (7)

  5 Fuels occasionally jellied at bottom of tanks (6)

  6 Stroke pup on street in spring (5)

  7 Blast from producing dried fruit (6)

  8 Judge clouts son (6)

  9 Assume over clocked up more bouncers (6)

11 Wan's positive, but beginning to expect charge (6)

12 Hang aide and stay at sea for a week (11, 3 words)

19 Arab’s suave king corrupted master in East London (4)

22 Once returned with sufficient for elders (4)

23 Prime suspect held in confines of emptiest compounds (7)

25 Twin lied about abode (7)

26 Wino, drunk, stops to kick citizen (6)

28 One son turned helper for feast (6)

29 Mountain-dwelling Greek priest carried by deer climbing height (6)

30 Strap-like halter to learn when shortened (6)

32 Fails to support Adele with high notes (6)

34 Sheath, original cover, mostly black (5)

35 Little sheep in Perth that is hiding end of cry mournfully (5)

36 Offend at least seven users (5)

Entries
To enter this competition, input your solution into the website at https://cc.vellender.com before 8th June 2025. The first correct entry drawn from the hat will receive a book from the Chambers range, which has been donated by Chambers.