Crossword News June 2026

 

Crossword News June 2026

The May Prize Puzzle was Adorns Anew by Yimin. Solvers were asked to find three works and complete a perimeter quotation. The three works are Birth of Venus (11a/13d), Venus and Mars (13d/26d) and Primavera (12d) – paintings by Sandro Botticelli: the title being a clue to his first name. The perimeter quotation (and source) is BOTTICELLI ISNT A WINE YOU JUGGINS BOTTICELLI IS A CHEESE (PUNCH). Which explains why three wines (21a, 28a and 43a) must be changed to cheeses. It was an original idea to make extra letters check with the unchecked cells in the perimeter.

Here are some of the comments from solvers.

 

Brilliant. Delightful clues (I loved 20). Allowing the extra letter to be anywhere in the clue gives great scope for finding ingenious places to hide it. A splendid ruse to reveal the unchecked perimeter letters. However, the art-works quickly revealed the perimeter subject and the ODQ then revealed the quotation. I suspect the great majority of solvers will have completed the perimeter via that route (as did I), rather than using the extra letters from the clues.

I have to admit to not finding the three wines (I assume that's what they were). This failure proved to be a significant advantage, as I encountered no clashes in cells, while the three cheeses readily became clear from crossing lights.

A good level of challenge was maintained from start to finish. It was delightfully satisfying to complete the puzzle.

 

Slow to get into, but I saw BIRTH OF VENUS and PRIMAVERA reasonably early, so BOTTICELLI followed. And having possession of a paperback collection of Punch cartoons used in their caption competition I knew the quote, so the perimeter promptly filled and it was a question of simply 'mopping up'. I had TOKAY and made it GOUDA, but I worked backward from RICOTTA (clue answer must be a wine...) and still haven't worked out what lurks behind PANEER!

 

Possibly the most bizarre quotation that's appeared in a puzzle -- presumably it made more sense in context. Worked well as a thematic device, producing an entertaining solve. The device of extra letters providing the perimeter letters was a novel one for me, adding to the interest.

 

There were 58 entries, of which 5 were marked incorrect. The winner, picked at random, was Paul Newell, who will be receiving a prize of Chambers Crossword Dictionary, which is donated by Chambers.

 

There is a full solution and notes at https://crosswordcentre.blogspot.com/2026/06/solution-to-adorns-anew-by-yimin.html The list of correct solvers in May is available on the entry page for the June competition.

 

There is still time to enter your solution to the May Prize Puzzle, Replace by Curmudgeon. https://crosswordcentre.blogspot.com/2026/05/june-2026-replace-by-curmudgeon.html

 

The July Prize Puzzle will be Pronouncement by Noctifer. Noctifer is an actuary from Dublin who fell in love with the Listener in 2015 and recently turned his hand to setting that style of puzzle. He would set more if inspiration would strike!

 

After my plea for submissions last month, we received 3 in the same week which kept John Nicholson and me very busy testing. So, I can promise some exciting solving this summer with puzzles from Noctifer, Vagans and Henri. Also, in the middle of a heatwave we tested the next Seasons Greetings for December and Arcadia has already sent his next Advent Challenge. Thank you all for your support. We would now welcome submissions for the autumn months.
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Colin Inman, former editor of the FT crosswords died in May, aged 87.  He was a journalist at the Financial Times and wrote the FT Style Guide. He took on the role of crossword editor in 1979 when the FT had only three compilers. He was instrumental in commissioning and encouraging new talent. When he retired there were 30 setters and he had edited over 13,000 crosswords as well as instigating the Polymath general knowledge puzzle. Many current setters are indebted to Colin for his encouragement in starting their careers.

There is an obituary on Fifteensquared https://fifteensquared.net/2026/05/20/rip-colin-inman/ 

It is also worth reading the article written by Roger Blitz on Colin’s retirement. https://www.ft.com/content/c321ea22-57ad-450e-b9dd-86576231c6e5?syn-25a6b1a6=1
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I have been subscribing to The Times on-line with their Light Pack subscription at £4.99 per month. I am very happy to only read 30 articles each month as I have access to all the crosswords, sudokus and puzzles. It is obviously much cheaper than buying The Times every Saturday to get the Listener Crossword. However, I have been warned that the price will almost double.

“Dear Derek,
Thanks for subscribing to The Times and Sunday Times.
We need to let you know that effective from July 8, 2026, the price of your Light Pack subscription will increase to £9.99 per month. The Light Pack is a bespoke invitation-only subscription offered to readers like you, who value flexibility for a lower cost than our standard digital subscription. We hope you agree that even with this change, the Light Pack continues to offer exceptional value to access our authoritative journalism.”
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Last month I mentioned how the Guardian was celebrating their Cryptic Crossword no. 30,000. A complex trail led to the May Genius puzzle by Enigmatist. A lot of geniuses were found in the grid, with thinking outside the box! Here is how Alan Connor describes the event.
https://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/crossword-blog/2026/jun/02/crossword-editors-desk-celebrating-30000-cryptics-with-a-treasure-hunt
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I see that the World Crossword Federation is holding an on-line championship in July for US residents and one for Canadian residents, with cash prizes for the winners. You can find out more and how to register at https://crypticsingh.com/new/home.aspx

Best wishes
Derek Harrison.