Crossword News July 2026

 

Crossword News July 2026

The June Prize Puzzle was Replace by Curmudgeon. Across clues anagrammed to cities with an additional letter with the first six extra letters giving CITIES. In fact, there were only two down entries that could give cities (we thought), EXERTED (Exeter) and MIAUL (Lima) Solvers had to write LIMA (Peru's capital) below the grid. We did not reckon on the ingenuity of our solvers, who came up with a variety of alternative cities. In the end, we decided to simply mark the grid entry.

The correct solvers who found LIMA were, Michael Crapper, Tim Pollit, Ron McClellan, Chris Chatwin, Roslyn Roogvie, Christine Thomas, Toby West-Taylor, Robert Zara, Peter Smith, Gerry Murtagh, Don Thompson, Geoff Smith, Robert Benz, John Doylend, Keith Williams and Adam Vellender.

Here are some of the comments from solvers.
I’m sure I’ve missed something here. I could only find LIMA and EXETER in down answers (no doubt there are more). EXETER is ‘higher’ in the grid, but LIMA is higher in elevation (though only by 98 metres).

Thanks, Curmudgeon for a good work-out. Solving was fine but unfortunately, I gave up on some of the obscure places and began to think there were multiple possibilities in the down clues. Perhaps giving an indication of how many downs were involved could have helped?

I really enjoyed the gridfill with some excellent clueing from one of my favourite setters. However, I have to confess that I found the endgame frustrating. When does a town become a city? “Highest” in elevation, population, position in grid? I’ve gone for Lima on the basis that in terms of elevation the Cerro San Cristobal in metropolitan Lima is at 1312 feet and parts of the Chosica district within the city limits are at 2825 feet. At least I’ve learnt a significant amount about the elevation of cities in general and Lima in particular!

Tricky to get into, but good fun and challenging to complete - nice to see the Curmudgeon-ly side of Chalicea!

There were 44 entries, of which 2 were marked incorrect. The lucky winner, picked at random, was Tim Pollitt, who will be receiving a prize of Chambers Crossword Dictionary which was donated by the u.

There is a full solution at https://crosswordcentre.blogspot.com/2026/07/solution-to-replace-by-curmudgeon.html

The July Prize Puzzle is Pronouncement by Noctifer and you still have time to enter your solution. https://crosswordcentre.blogspot.com/2026/06/july-2026-pronouncement-by-noctifer.html

The August challenge will be Uncommon Sense by Vagans.
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The legendary York Sloggers and Betters is scheduled to take place on the 23^rd to 25^th October. As usual there is a Friday evening quiz, a Saturday get-together at the Marcia Inn and a Sunday morning pint before departure. John Henderson is already asking for names of potential attendees so that he can organise food etc. More information about accommodation etc at this link https://fifteensquared.net/2026/06/16/york-sloggers-betters-2026/
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The Times Crossword Championship is already open for competitors to register. The contest will take place on Saturday, October 10 on the top floor of the News Building, by London Bridge station. Registration is now open on a first-come-first-served basis — here is the link. There is a discount for Times subscribers, just use the code times+20 at the checkout.  

The format will be similar to last year, with competitors required to solve three crosswords in an hour in the Qualifier and again (for those who qualify) in the Semifinal, with the five top finishers in the Semi then going on to compete over a single puzzle in the final.
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With the rising cost of postage stamps, it will be welcome news to solvers of the Listener Crossword that they will accept email entries. The Listener marker, Andy Mullins, tells me that it will be announced officially soon in The Times. This will make things much easier for solvers outside of the UK or on holiday abroad. In the meantime, send your entry to marker@listenercrossword.com.
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History was created on Sunday 5th, as the first-ever US Triple-C 2026 Crossword Challenge and Canada Triple-C 2026 Crossword Challenge commenced simultaneously with their Practice Round, marking a significant milestone in the global promotion of competitive cryptic crosswords.
The US Triple-C 2026 – Practice Round Winners were Paolo Pasco from New York, Erik Agard based at Missouri and Matthew Theodore Marcus of Oregon.

While the Canada Triple-C 2026 – Practice Round Winners were Will Nediger, hailing from Ontario, Daniel Currie Hall of Nova Scotia and Rupert Marten Morris, also from Ontario. With the successful completion of the Practice Round, participants now look forward to the main championship. The First Online Round will be held on 12th July 2026, followed by the Second Online Round on 19th July 2026. The final results and championship winners will be announced on 26th July.
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We note that Wendy Law, the Guardian setter Hectence, died last month. She began setting puzzles in 1999 and continued with the Quiptic Crossword until this year. She was a popular setter and composed over 200 crosswords for the Guardian.
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In the Guardian, the setter Brockwell found a way of expressing his grief for losing his pet dog, Eddie.
https://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/crossword-blog/2026/jul/06/crossword-editors-desk-farewell-to-eddie

I am writing this newsletter sitting by the pool at our daughter’s house in Portugal. We are house-sitting while Jane and her husband are touring northern Spain in their campervan. I won’t be able to post the prize until we get back home later in the month. In the meantime, we are enjoying the sunshine, the food and the wine.

Best wishes
Derek Harrison