Crossword News November 2025
The October Prize Puzzle was Like Two-Tone by Yimin. Corrected
misprints spell STARRY NIGHT OVER THE RHONE (by Van Gogh), a work which
includes the Big Dipper which also features in Alaska’s state flag, which was
to be submitted with the clashes replaced with stars and (optionally) the
background in blue. The last letter of
clues whose corrected misprints give the first letter of each word in Van
Gogh’s work are D (8a), A (37a), L (3d), F (11d) and G (29d). Four of those can be re-arranged to spell
FLAG. The title refers to the nature of the solution and the theme (A LA SKA) referring
to Two-Tone records who specialised in ska music.
Here are some of the comments from solvers.
The Setter’s modesty (ambition exceeds talent) is surely
misplaced in this puzzle which in my opinion is excellent in both conception
and realisation. One of the very best in the short period I’ve been following
this series.
An enjoyable crossword and a good cryptic clue for Alaska in
the title. I particularly liked the extra letters in the clash at 18a/10d
spelling out the name of the star Polaris. The clue at 23 down of defining
Koala as a bear raised an eyebrow. Although inaccurate, it unfortunately has support
from Chambers. When I see them, they do tell me that they are a marsupial and
nothing like a bear. The SOED says "The form koala bear is widely used but
zoologically incorrect.".
A tricky solve - it took us a while to 'get into it'. We're
still not sure of the significance of the title other than the fact that the
Alaskan flag has yellow stars on a blue background. Who knew that Seward and
Denali are in Alaska? We were delighted to find Polaris which helped in
confirming other clashes. We're not sure that we've parsed 39a, but hope the
answer is 'ENAMEL'. Thanks to Yimin for a challenging puzzle.
There were 52 entries, of which, 3 were marked incorrect.
The lucky winner is David Whyte who will be receiving a prize of Chambers
Crossword Dictionary, which was donated by Chambers.
There is a full solution at https://crosswordcentre.blogspot.com/2025/11/solution-to-like-two-tone-by-yimin.html
You still have lots of time to solve the November Prize
Puzzle, Nonsense by Craft. This may be proving to be a difficult solve as we
only have 6 entries so far, although all correct.
The December Prize Puzzle will be the 17th Seasons
Greetings by Eclogue. Thanks to Keith Williams, the prize for this puzzle will
be a 2026 subscription to The
Crossword Club (worth £36) or a full refund if the winner is already
subscribed.
We will also be publishing another Advent Challenge from
Arcadia. Exploration is a difficult puzzle and will not count for annual
statistics. Arcadia will be offering a prize of a bottle of champagne.
***
In the 2025 Times Crossword Championship, it was Mark
Goodliffe who was the winner, recording his 14th win.
Three of the finalists were past champions: this year’s
runner-up Roger Crabtree won in 2018, third-placed Marcus won in 2023 and
fourth-placed David Howell clinched the title back in 1997, in the
pre-Goodliffe era. Chloe Hutton, who was runner-up to Goodliffe last year, came
fifth.
Mark explains how he solved the final puzzle in this
fascinating video. https://youtu.be/vkQPJd3NwLY?si=cfypLeW16O-8gwWM
Professor Siddhartha Chatterjee, a computer scientist at the
University of Texas, brought his creation, Darmok, over on his laptop for the
event after a summer of intensive training. Darmok solved two of the three
semi-final puzzles in an impressive seven minutes but came unstuck on the
third. Faced with the final puzzle, the program put up a performance that would
have earned a human contestant fourth place but gave up after 18 minutes with
one clue left.
***
The Observer interviewed two of their leading setters, Jonathan Crowther (Azed)
and Colin Thomas (Gemelo). You can watch the interviews on YouTube. https://youtu.be/JpcMqY71UVE?si=W3iLqT0_9QSuHmJi
***
I have received my copy of the new crossword magazine, Unch. You get a nicely
designed 20-page booklet with 9 blocked grid cryptics and one barred thematic
puzzle by Cranberry. I liked the size of the grids and the font. It was easy to
read and tackle the crosswords. There was also an interesting interview with
Susie Mesure, the great-granddaughter of Afrit. I think it is a great idea and
will encourage new setters most of the setters to get going. The first edition
is sold out but you can sign up for information about the second edition at https://unchcrosswords.com/
***
Mephisto setter, Paul McKenna, is also a renowned classical scholar. He has
written a translation and notes on some lovely Latin elegiacs written by the
great E.J. Kenney to celebrate the centenary of the Society for the Promotion
of Hellenic Studies in 1979. You can read it here.
https://antigonejournal.com/2025/10/centenary-elegiacs-society-hellenic-studies/
***
The 3D crossword calendar makes a superb Christmas present
for any crossword fan. The grids in the 2026 edition were designed by Rikki,
Calluna, Soup, Absolution, Gin, Mang, Sirius, Chalicea, Shark and Komorník.
Clues to challenge and charm are provided by Carpathian, Raich, Enigmatist,
Soup, Boatman, Paul, Vlad, Amoeba, Sirius, Curmudgeon, Shark and Komorník. One
solution per month is also given an often surreal visual treatment in a cryptic
drawing by Frank Paul. Each puzzle is paired with a beautiful background photo
which hints at the puzzle’s theme. The printed calendar costs £14.50 and the
digital one £12.50
https://3dcalendarpuzzles.co.uk/shop/
***
The result of the October Azed competition has been published with the clues
for DINGLEDANGLE.
1 T Anderson: Potting whiz won snooker frame, going like the
clappers (Ding, led, angle; ref Ding Junhui; bell clapper)
2 D F Manley: Hollow Donald’s leader with viewpoint
oscillating (dingle +d angle, ref. D.Trump)
3 Mrs A M Walden: England batted with delight, all except
the last pair swinging freely (anagram less h, t)
The slip for October has not been issued. I will post it
when it published.
***
The word of the year, according to Collins, is vibe coding – using AI to write
code, as I understand .
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cpd2y053nleo
***
The Listener Crossword Dinner will be held in The View Hotel, Eastbourne, on
the 15th March 2026. I have already booked for the event and look
forward to seeing everyone.
***
I was lucky enough to win a second Listener prize this year. It was for Hawk’s
lovely moth puzzle, Naked Attraction. Dmitriy Adamskiy continues to tell us how
he solves the Listener on YouTube. His critique of Naked Attraction is here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=znPZ8FQbF_M
Best wishes
Derek Harrison
