Crossword News March
2025
The February Prize
Puzzle was Defeat by Chalicea. Extra letters gave ‘DIED FOR YOUR WEE BIT HILL
AND GLEN’ Scotland’s unofficial national anthem, sung by the CORRIES, refers to
Edward’s defeat by Robert the Bruce’s men at Bannockburn. They ‘sent him
homeward to think again’
Here are some of the
comments from solvers.
Chalicea always
provides entertaining fare. We were delayed a while in looking at the lyrics of
the Corries' 'Bannockburn' before realising we needed to look elsewhere
- we didn't know the Corries also wrote 'Flower of Scotland'! An
enjoyable solve. Thanks to Chalicea and
the Crossword Centre.
Some clever touches
from Chalicea, unco as an anagrind for example.
With the multiple Scottish references in the clues, including Robert the
Bruce, and especially if you were familiar with the thematic song, the unclued
perimeter and entries were easily filled, all making the puzzle slightly too
easy.
Amazed by how many
Scottish words Chalicia managed to squeeze into this crossword as well as all
the thematic words. Her skill as a setter keeps getting better. Unfortunately I
hate that song! PS I'm Scottish.
There were 58
entries, of which 4 were marked incorrect. The lucky winner was David Gogol,
who will be receiving a prize of a copy of Chambers Crossword Dictionary, which
was donated by Chambers.
There is a full
solution and notes at https://crosswordcentre.blogspot.com/2025/03/solution-to-defeat-by-chalicea.html
There is still time
to solve the March puzzle, Round Robin XVII and email your entry. Do not forget
to vote for your favourite clues. https://crosswordcentre.blogspot.com/2025/02/march-2025-prize-puzzle-rr-xvii-round-up.html
The April puzzle
will be Tan Goes So Stripey by Vismut. Entries for this must be submitted via a
link on the puzzle. Adam Vellender has devised an amazing utility for marking
entries and recording comments. We have been testing it and it works
beautifully. My advice would be to solve the puzzle with pencil and paper and
then copy it into the grid for submission. We were the first to accept email
entries and I think that this will make the marker’s job much easier.
We would still
welcome any crossword submissions for later months.
***
The 2025 Listener Crossword Dinner was held in the Waterfront Hotel, Southport
on the 15th March. After the dinner it was time for the speeches. Jim
Coulson (Jago) began with a tribute to John Green, who had been the marker for
Listener crosswords for almost 40 years. Unfortunately, John was not present to
receive his award of an engraved real ale tankard and a cheque for £8000.
Jane Teather read
the excuses for absence and announced that there would be four obituaries.
Sadly, Charles
Curran had died in November. He was an avid crossword solver and had won, with
his wife Shirley, the Silver Salver in 2017.
There was a tribute
to Andy Stewart (Dysart) who died last year. Starting to compose quite late in
life, he had a prodigious output, with 20 Listener, 15 IQ, 6 EV and 22 Magpie
puzzles. He had moved to Thailand and enjoyed his hobby of photographing birds
in his trips into the jungle.
Mick Hodgkin gave a
tribute to Richard Rogan who had died of a heart attack in June. As well as being
crossword editor for the Times, Richard composed crosswords for the Times and
for the Listener as Aragon. Some of the best of his crosswords were published
anonymously in the Times following a rule that Richard insisted upon. The Times
Crossword of Friday 14 March was one of Richard’s, a puzzle that gained much
praise from Simon Anthony. His Listener puzzles showed incredible ingenuity and
variety. Mick pinpointed one, Pub Crawl, with its superb preamble and
execution.
Shane Shabankareh
stood up to present the awards. The Radix Auditorium is awarded to the most
successful new solver and this year it went to Joe Baldwin. He solved his first
Listener at no. 4812 and followed with 29 correct entries.
The Solver Silver
Solver is awarded to the solver with the longest record of all-correct
solutions who has not been a winner previously. This year with a record of 241
correct entries the winner was Keith Williams who was not present.
The fourth obituary
was for Alan Scott (Ascot) who died in May. It was he who awarded the Ascot
Gold Cup. From 1977 he set 23 Listener crosswords plus 2 in collaboration with
Mass. In the mid-80s he took over the Everyman puzzles in the Observer from
Alec Robins.
21 all-correct
solvers voted for their favourite puzzles of 2024. Shane read out the results
in reverse order.
10 Free for All by
Toffee
9 Summertime by Harribobs
8 A Royal Tour by Agricola
7 Parentage in USA by Tringa
6 Brilliant by Brock
5 Second to Last by Karla
4 Creature Feature by Sabre
3 Ready Now by ‘Eck
2 Bygone Characters by Shark
And the winner was
By George! By Enigmatist, the puzzle based on the mathematical titles of albums
by Adele and Ed Sheeran. An emotional John Henderson received the Ascot Gold
Cup.
The table quiz was based on the fact that Lee Mack and (the novelist) David
Mitchell were born in Southport which was also the home of Red Rum. Tables were
asked to write a clue to John Green. Table 8 won the Bronze Casket with this
clue.
Can my knight
capture rook, checking king
There is a copy of
the quiz on Fifteen Squared. https://www.fifteensquared.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Listener-Dinner-2025.pdf
Finally, Steve
Bartlett was awarded the Inquisitor prize for his puzzle, Battle of the
Sausages.
There was a hint
that next year’s venue will be on the south coast. Rumour has it that Listener
statistics will be issued by email.
Thanks to John and
Jane for organising such an excellent event. It was a pleasure to meet up with
lots of friends in a fine hotel.
***
Phi published his annual APEX (A Phi Every Xmas) puzzle in December. It was a
Playfair crossword and solvers had to write a clue to CANDY STORE. The results
are now published.
1st Source of sweets
- or centre for dental decay, sadly John Hood
2nd Actors deny working for US establishment that targets kids Mark O’Connor
3rd Try a second brittle here Mark Oshin
My clue came 5th
out of the 37, just behind 4th placed Richard Heald.
***
The American Crossword Puzzle Tournament will be taking place for the 47th
time on the weekend of the 4th to 6th April. It will be
directed, as usual, by Will Shortz. You can find all the details at this link. https://www.crosswordtournament.com/
***
The Azed Slip with the results for ANCIENTS is now on the Crossword Centre. The
winner was A. Plumb:
Cineast sadly
screening last of golden oldies
(n in anag.)
http://www.crossword.org.uk/Azedslip.html
***
Sowmya Ramkumar has sent me details of the World Cryptic Crossword
Championship.
Extra C, the
organization behind the Indian Crossword League (IXL) is delighted to invite
you to the World Cryptic Crossword Championship (WCCC), a premier global event
for cryptic crossword lovers. This exciting championship will take place in
London and promises a day of challenging puzzles, camaraderie, fun, and prizes
for solvers of all levels.
Event Details
• Date: 28th June 2025 Online Individual Championship on crypticsingh.com
• Date: 29th June for the Team Championship (World Cup)
• Venue: The Nehru Centre, 8 South Audley Street, London
• Eligibility: Open to all crossword enthusiasts worldwide• Website:
wccc.crypticsingh.com
What to Expect:
1. Individual Championship:
Test your individual skills against the best solvers from around the globe.
Show off your talent and compete for the coveted title of Individual and Team WCCC
Champion!
2. Team Event:
Participate as a one-member team, collaborate and solve challenging puzzles
together, and showcase your collective brainpower.
How to Participate:
Visit wccc.crypticsingh.com
to register as an individual for the online contest on 28th June or as a
one-member team.
***
Best wishes
Derek
Defeat by Chalicea - Solution
Entries
To enter this competition, send your
entry as an image or in list format giving the final entries to ccpuzzles@talktalk.net before 8th April 2025. The
first correct entry drawn from the hat will receive a book from the Chambers
range, which has been donated by Chambers.
You may vote for your favourite clue
with your entry. You can just nominate one clue, which will be awarded 3
points, or your top three which will be awarded 3, 2 and 1 points. The person
whose clue accumulates the most points will receive a prize, which also has
been donated by the Crossword Centre.
Clues by…
…Anax, Avtaar, Josie Barnes, Steve Bartlett, David Beamish, Rod
Beards, Brian Betker, Terrence Brennan, Kieran Callaghan, Geri Cashell,
Chalicea, Andy Grady, Simon Griew, Derek Harrison, Hawk, Helen Heath,
Hedge-sparrow, John Hood, Jugular, Karla, Kevin McDermid, Toby McLeay,
Rob Moline, Alf Mullins, Jonathan Owen, Bhalchandra Pasupathy, Jeff
Pearce, Phylax, Ed Powles, Paul Pridmore, John Reardon, Simon Shaw, Ian
Simpson, Peter Smith, William Snow, Colin Thomas, Andrew Varney, Adam
Vellender, John Walsh, Luciano Ward, David Whyte and Dave Williams.
Crossword News February 2025
The January Prize Puzzle was Twin Beaks by Jugular. This was
based on a famous Guinness advert and the grid showed the toucan’s beaks and
two pints of Guinness. Before Dorothy L. Sayers became a well-known crime
novelist she worked as an advertising copywriter for S. H. Benson and worked on
a campaign for Guinness where she is credited with the phrase:
"If he can say as you can Guinness is good for you How
grand to be a Toucan Just think what Toucan do.”
An excellent start to 2025 with a puzzle that was widely
enjoyed by just about everyone. The highlighting of Dorothy L Sayers was
a little ambiguous with two Ds close together and an extra L within the
confines of the beak, so any version that spelt out the 14 cells required
was marked correct.
Here are some of the comments from solvers.
This is the sort of puzzle that is definitely 'good for
you'... The clues were neat, the theme novel and the end-game fun: I thought
I'd leave a bit of head on the two shaded subjects. Thanks to Jugular and the Crossword Centre.
I found this to be a very enjoyable puzzle with good clues
and an interesting theme. I was aware of the connection between toucans &
Guinness but didn’t know where it had come from so it was interesting to find
this out.
Cork comedian and actor Niall TóibÃn, used tell a joke about
how an Irishman could be described as “a complex machine for converting
Guinness into urine”, he would pause briefly in thought and follow it up with
“which to a Murphy’s drinker is superfluous anyway”. While I have done no
justice to his abilities as a storyteller, it was nice to be reminded of one of
Cork’s greatest, by, ironically, a Dublin institution. Thanks to Jugular for
the challenge and also for bringing back some great memories.
There were 55 entries, of which 7 were marked incorrect. The
lucky winner, picked from the electronic hat was Alan Chamberlain, who will be
receiving a prize of Chambers Crossword Dictionary which was donated by
Chambers.
There is a solution with notes at https://crosswordcentre.blogspot.com/2025/02/solution-to-twin-beaks-by-jugular.html
There is still time to complete the February Prize Puzzle, Defeat
by Chalicea.
https://crosswordcentre.blogspot.com/2025/01/february-2025-defeat-by-chalicea.html
The March challenge will be our 17th Round Robin
puzzle, RR XVII – Round Up. The grid and the concept were the work of John
Nicholson (Wan). He tells me that he has run out of ideas for these crosswords
and wants someone else to take over. If you have an idea for a 2026 Round Robin,
I would be very grateful. The only good thing is that you do not have to write
the clues!
We would welcome submissions for later months.
***
Robert has produced the 2024 results for the Crowther Cup.
Checking and calculating the scores for this over the past
month has thrown up a few more concerns regarding the issues with my
email! For instance, when I looked back
at last January there were more entries than I had originally marked at the
time. I am confident that I now have the
full information required for the results, but it has persuaded me even more
that it would be a good thing going forward if we get a volunteer to take over!
(Edited article to follow below). Once
again I am happy to provide individual records on request (email me at
toots@tinyworld.co.uk), but for some I may not be able to respond until next
week (I am still going through the year thoroughly to add in any
"missing" entries).
Despite us posting just the 12 competition puzzles in 2024
only 3 competitors managed to survive the year intact! Matthew Auger continued his long unbeaten run
and he was joined by Ronan Cullinane and Christine Thomas. As per the Listener, The Crowther Cup passes
on to the best all correct solver who has not been on before, so it went to
countback. The final positions were:
1. Matthew Auger (last failure Dec 2015)
2. Christine Thomas (last failure Oct 2023)
3. Ronan Cullinane (last failure Dec 2023)
So congratulations to Christine Thomas who wins the Crowther
Cup!
http://www.crossword.org.uk/crowther.html
***
The Clue-writing competition has been running for the past 17 years on the
fantastic software designed by John Tozer for the Azed & lit site. However, he is unable, for health reasons to
change the site and since he fell ill we have been unable to accept new members
- frustrating for those wishing to join and develop their clue-writing
skills. We know that there are many new
people who would like to enter the competition. So we are suggesting moving
back to the old method, where a manager receives the clues by email, sends out
a list of the clues for voting, records the votes and composes a summary of the
successful clues plus any comments, to then send out to the group each month.
In this way, we could accept more new clue-writers. It is a shame to move away
from the wonderful interface on the CCCWC website, but there is always the
possibility that we may be able to resume there at some time in the
future. Robert Teuton has been managing
the CCCWC for the past 25 years and he feels that it is time for someone else
to inject renewed energy and enthusiasm into our long-running competition!
Since the inception of the Crowther Cup in 2015 Robert
Teuton has also been marking our monthly crosswords, but he thinks it is time
for a rest from that as well, so I am asking for a volunteer to take on the
role of marking the monthly crosswords. It would mean checking around 30 to 70
entries per month, making a document of all the comments received and keeping a
record of individual entries for the annual statistics.
If you would be willing to take on either of these tasks,
please let me know. If you would like
more information on what either role entails before committing, please email
Robert at toots@tinyworld.co.uk
***
John Henderson has published the results of the IQ puzzle of the year votes.
The winner was eXternal with his sausage-themed puzzle. On the podium were -
1. 1843
Sausage Competition eXternal
2. 1852
Made Runny Charybdis
3. 1850
Blast Off Serpent
Read the full report here - https://www.fifteensquared.net/2025/02/15/inquisitor-review-of-the-year-2023-4-the-results/
***
The Magpie continues to produce the most original and testing puzzles every
month. They have just published their annual statistics for 2024 and the names
on the leader board are a good picture of the top solvers in the world.
Who were the top solvers in 2024?
1= Daniel Angel 12 12 72 [249]
1= Matthew Auger 12 12 72 [225.5]
1= Michael Bennett 12 12 72 –
1= Richard Chamberlain 12 12 72 [240]
1= David Giles 12 12 72 [249.2*]
1= John Reardon 12 12 72 [251.6]
1= Darren Roberts 12 12 72 [251]
1= Deane Short 12 12 72 [247.3]
1= Don Thompson 12 12 72 [252.1]
1= Clive Walker 12 12 72 –
1= Philip Wood 12 12 72 [204.5]
1= Nick Yannacone 12 12 72 [240.3]
13 Larry Baum 12 12 71 259.5
14 Geoff Telfer 12 12 71 263.5
15 Chris Cawthorn 11 12 71 258.2
16 Keith Sutherland 11 12 71 259.3
17= Tim Burt 11 12 71 262.2
17= Dale Johannesen 11 12 71 262.2
17= G Mullineux 11 12 71 262.2
The numbers after the names give a. all correct Magpie. b.
all correct mathematical c. Total d.
Last failure issue (This month is issue 266).
https://www.piemag.com/
***
Now that Jason Crampton is the editor of the Times crossword, he has left the
Magpie team. Colin Thomas (Twin) has taken over his job of First Test Solver.
***
The Listener Crossword Dinner will be held in the Seafront Hotel, Southport on Saturday
15 March. Jane Teather tells me that there are still some places available if
you want to make a booking. Contact Jane or email me for details.
***
The latest Azed Slip is now on the Crossword Centre with the results of the competition
for TENEBROSE. The winner was P. W. Marlow:
Reform seen to be limiting Starmer’s focus? That’s dismal (r
in anag.).
http://www.crossword.org.uk/Azed2742.pdf
***
When I published the Apex Letters two years ago, I tried to contact the family
of Eric Chalkley. I had the email address of his daughter, Jennifer, but that
address was defunct. However, I knew that his son Geoffrey lived in Haddonfield,
NJ, and a Google search found his address. I wrote to him and he was able to give
me Jennifer’s address. I sent them both copies of the book. Just recently, I
have located Eric’s nephew, Brian, and I have been able to send him a copy.
Eric was proud of his nephew and told me that he was a very good artist. Of
course, Brian is now better known as the acclaimed artist, Brian Dawn Chalkley
***
Best wishes
Derek
