Comments on Crossword Unclued: Crossword Solving Aids

@Tony: Great to hear about tools from a setter'...

2009-07-15T12:00:39.158+05:30

@Tony: Great to hear about tools from a setter's perspective!

@Shivesh: Nice to know that this article has been useful for a new solver. I think it's important at this stage to distinguish between tools that enable you to solve better, and tools that do the solving on your behalf. The second kind should be sought with great caution!
isn’t it amazing to just see the creation of a brilliant mind - Very true. Just to see a brilliant clue gives pleasure, even if we weren't able to solve it ourselves.

@Sampath: Thanks for your comment. Do keep visiting for more!
[PS: Why is the comment addressed to Anoka? I am called Shuchi :)]

Dear Anoka Yes. Crossword solving is a pleasure....

2009-07-13T16:28:18.302+05:30

Dear Anoka

Yes. Crossword solving is a pleasure. I was fascinated by an elder doing this and my admiration for him ensured that I started trying this. I used to do Hindu CW with a couple of friends and with some sharing, we were able to finish few days.

I studied tamil medium all along and my fascination for this kept me buying Hindu. I carry strong prejudices about the way this newspaper publishes certain things which made me stop buying Hindu. After some lay off, I am back at it and I get struck quite many times. Your description of utilising the tools is very apt and one such search landed me in your blog. Amazed at the nice manner in which the solution is presented.
With regards - S Sampathkumar

I am probably the latest to enter the world of cry...

2009-07-10T12:54:53.147+05:30

I am probably the latest to enter the world of cryptic crosswords and with the limited insight, I am sharing my ideas here.

I agree with your view that puzzle solving is for pleasure. In addition to the pleasure, one gets to learn about the new words and their horizons, thus, preparing oneself for the next round, isn’t it? This post of yours makes me aware of the aids available along with the risks (of missing out obscure words or rare meanings of words) I may be running into. The possibility that answers can be derived even when the solution is not known had not stuck me before. My sincere thanks to you for this :)

The use of aids is a part of this learning process to me. In fact, in referring to the aids and trying to get the pointers/reach a solution, I feel, one gets to learn even more. I won’t call it cheating as we are not in a competition or exam.

At times (more such times for me :)) when I am unable to tread the path indicated by a clue and on finding the solution I realize, how far or how near I was to the solution, I get to appreciate how smartly the clue has been constructed which is another great pleasure, isn’t it amazing to just see the creation of a brilliant mind!!

Yay! I'm the first to comment. My first tool ...

2009-07-09T21:20:55.960+05:30

Yay! I'm the first to comment.

My first tool is "wordweb" - for meanings,synonyms etc.

Anagrams thankfully don't need any help.

And of course, where would we be without Google or Wikipedia for the terms/people/events we do not know.

That's for the solving part. When I am clueing, aids are indispensable. Wordweb, dictionary.com, thesaurus.com, google, wikipedia, pattern matchers (zyzzyva mostly - it is a Scrabble tool), the works.