Prize Puzzle: Hindi Crossword 6 – Solution and Winner

We are back as promised to share the solution of Hindi Cryptic Crossword 6 and announce our winner. One of the many delights for us, while reading your responses, has been hearing from first-time solvers. Do dig into our archives and try the older Hindi puzzles too - and we hope to bring more such in future!

आर-पार

क्रमांक	संकेत	उत्तर	टिप्पणी
1	आवाज़ लगाई: "पुल के सामने वाले भाग पर अँग्रेज़ की गाड़ी है ! आ !" (3)	पुकारा	पु (First letter of पुल) + कार (अँग्रेज़ की गाड़ी) + आ; Definition: आवाज़ लगाई
3	फिर ऊपर से (2)	और	DD; Definition1: फिर, Definition2: ऊपर से
4	पहुँच गए ? साये से सिर गायब है (2)	आये	Delete the "head" of साये to get आये; Definition: पहुँच गए
5	एक के पास 3 अंडे हैं | और 997 मिलने के बाद कितने हुए ? (3)	हज़ार	DD-ish; 1 + three 0s, or 3 + 997 = 1000
6	डमरू-दोलन का फल ? (4)	अमरूद	Hidden in डमरू-दोलन ; Definition: फल
8	आभास ने लौटते हुए एक समारोह देखा (2)	सभा	Hidden in (आभास)<; Definition: समारोह
10	सात पुश्तों से संयम-बद्ध संत-मुनि ये करें ? (2)	तप	Hidden in सात पुश्तों; Definition: संत-मुनि ये करें
11	अम्मी, ठाकुर के पास कुछ स्वाद है (2)	मीठा	Hidden in अम्मी ठाकुर; Definition: स्वाद
14	काश! आ जाता पहले तो तुझे मिल पाता गगन (3)	आकाश	आ before (जाता पहले) काश; Definition: गगन
16	साहिबा तसनीम की गुफ़्तगू (2)	रात	Hidden in साहिबा तसनीम; Definition: गुफ़्तगू
17	कटनी (मध्य प्रदेश) में उगने वाला पेड़ (2)	नीम	Hidden in कटनी मध्य; Definition: पेड़
19	शरीर का भाग जिसका पहला हिस्सा कम है और उसके बाद थोड़ा रमणीय है (3)	कमर	कम + र (थोड़ा रमणीय); Definition: शरीर का भाग
21	दक्षिण भारतीय व्यंजन बनाने की विधि (3)	रहम	DD; Definition1: दक्षिण भारतीय व्यंजन, Definition2: विधि
22	ईद से पहले रस लो और यह दस्तावेज़ पाओ (3)	रसीद	रस + ईद; Definition: दस्तावेज़
24	अनलकुण्ड में भी पानी का साधन है (2)	नल	Hidden in अनलकुण्ड; Definition: पानी का साधन
26	नमो-राहुल की गुटबंदी ने क़ैद कर रखी है ये चिड़िया (2)	मोर	Hidden in 'नमो-राहुल; Definition: चिड़िया
27	गरजता है अंदर से कि स्वर्ण से नीचे वाला पदक मिला (3)	रजत	Hidden in गरजता; Definition: स्वर्ण से नीचे वाला पदक
29	बौद्ध सन्यासी होता है बिना माल के ही मालामाल (2)	लामा	Delete the letters of माल from मालामाल; Definition: बौद्ध सन्यासी
31	वहाँ निवास किया जाए जहाँ का भेदी लंका ढाए (2)	घर	DD; Definition1: वहाँ निवास किया जाए, Definition2: Reference to the proverb घर का भेदी लंका ढाए
33	दीन जब वापस आये, तो जल का प्रवाह पाए (2)	नदी	Reversal (वापस आये) of दीन; Definition: जल का प्रवाह
35	हौसला लो, बम न फटेगा (4)	मनोबल	Anagram (फटेगा) of (लो बम न); Definition: हौसला
36	कह ले किसी भी तरह, पर धीरे से (3)	हलके	Anagram (किसी भी तरह) of (कह ले); Definition: धीरे से
38	शुरू में चाय लेकर पैदल निकले (2)	चले	First letters (शुरू में) of चाय लेकर; Definition: पैदल निकले
39	आप और मैं मिल कर 32 का हिस्सा प्राप्त करेंगे (2)	हम	Part of solution to 32 Dn रहम; Definition: आप और मैं
40	आपने बिना तकल्लुफ़ के तुरंत मनमौजी नेवलों के सरों को पकड़ा (3)	तुमने	First letters (सरों) of तुरंत मनमौजी नेवलों; Definition: आपने बिना तकल्लुफ़ के i.e. the informal version of the second person pronoun

नीचे की ओर

क्रमांक	संकेत	उत्तर	टिप्पणी
1	इस पुल के टूटने पर प्रकट हुए नगर-रक्षक! (3)	पुलिस	Anagram (टूटने पर) of इस पुल; Definition: नगर-रक्षक
2	राहुल का रास्ता (2)	राह	Hidden in राहुल; Definition:रास्ता
3	मोहतरमा और तहज़ीब की शुरुआत ? (3)	औरत	और + first letter of तहज़ीब; Definition: मोहतरमा
4	जल्लाद मीर की अंदरूनी शख्सियत (3)	आदमी	Hidden in जल्लाद मीर; Definition: शख्सियत
7	घड़ा जो मुंबई में जुए के लिए मशहूर है (3)	मटका	DD; Definition1: घड़ा, Definition2: जो मुंबई में जुए के लिए मशहूर है
9	हिंदुस्तानी सात वार भी करे धुआँधार (5)	भारतवासी	Anagram (करे धुआँधार) of सात वार भी; Definition: हिंदुस्तानी
12	राष्ट्रकवि जमींदार भी हो सकता है (3)	ठाकुर	DD; Definition1: राष्ट्रकवि Rabindranath Tagore; Definition2: जमींदार भी हो सकता है
13	बहुरानी के पास एक ऊँचे दर्जे का पत्ता है (2)	रानी	Hidden in बहुरानी; Definition: एक ऊँचे दर्जे का पत्ता in the deck of cards
14	आग पहले से लगी है, मन में आ जाना (4)	आगमन	आग before मन; Definition: आ जाना
15	शंका है तो शौक की मात्रा कम कर दो (2)	शक	Remove the मात्रा from शौक; Definition: शंका
18	गुज़र मत हकलाते हुए ! ऐसा करने से बिगड़ी हुई चीज़े ठीक हो सकती है (4)	मरम्मत	मर (गुज़र) + मत हकलाते हुए = मरम्मत; Definition: ऐसा करने से बिगड़ी हुई चीज़े ठीक हो सकती है
20	श्री कृष्ण जैसे दिल लुभानेवाले पूर्व प्रधान मंत्री (5)	मनमोहन	Triple Defn; Definition1: श्री कृष्ण; Definition2: दिल लुभानेवाले, Definition3: पूर्व प्रधान मंत्री
22	बनारसी लालची के पास बहुत अर्क है (3)	रसीला	Hidden in बनारसी लालची; Definition:बहुत अर्क है
23	बिरादरी की कीमत (2)	दर	Hidden in बिरादरी; Definition:कीमत
25	उलटी ताल में ये फ़नकारा बखूबी गायें? (2)	लता	Reversal (उलटी) of ताल; Definition: ये फ़नकारा बखूबी गायें (Lata Mangeshkar)
28	श्रीमान, उर्दू में बोलिए (3)	जनाब	CD; the Urdu word for श्रीमान
30	इंज़माम ले गया विकेट ! अब ढूँढो चर्चे के लिएअलग-अलग विषय (3)	मामले	Hidden in इंज़माम ले ; Definition: चर्चे के लिएअलग-अलग विषय
32	बारह महीने का क्या भेद है, इसका मतलब समझे दया ! (3)	रहम	Hidden in बारह महीने; Definition: दया (Am I the only one here that knows CID’s equivalent of elementary-my-dear-Watson?)
34	नदी के किनारे नाव को उल्टा कर दो, ए पागल (3)	दीवाने	दी + वान (reversal of नाव) + ए; Definition: पागल
37	उसके-तुम्हारे बीच में छुपा है राहु का साथी (2)	केतु	Hidden in उसके-तुम्हारे; Definition: राहु का साथी

Solution Evaluation Notes

To break the tie, we usually go for wordplay parsing accuracy as the first filter. This time, parsing deviations/errors were so minor that we didn’t drop any entry at this step. Also, where the solver’s annotation was not quite what we intended, it was well-considered/intriguing and could work if we let it :-)

A few notable annos that we enjoyed reading: 3a - the observation that women are considered more civilized, so they can be called तहज़ीब की शुरुआत (with the ? to address any counters to this assertion); 3d - ऊपर से could indicate “taking the top off” of the word just above it (3a).

The parsing of 18d tripped up many solvers, and we can see why in retrospect. It uses a not-too-common device – the stuttering clue – for a complex consonant in an unchecked cell. If the stuttering was not mentioned in the solver’s parsing but the rest of it was fine, we took it as OK.

For 20d, we accepted both double definition and triple definition in the annotation.

14d, 25d received special commendation for their surfaces – glad you enjoyed those clues!

Applause for…

…those of you who cracked the puzzle fully.

Anshu N Jain	Harshit Gupta
Raju Umamaheshwar	Lakshmi Vaidyanathan
Vidyadhar Gadgil	Bharat
Vinayak Rao Ekbote	Rengaswamy
Ramki Krishnan	Vasant Srinivasan
Usha Mehta	Mahalingam
Amita Joseph	Prabhanjan
Supriya Mithal	Soumya V
Arvind Ramaswamy	Neelima Rai

18 eligible names went in for a lucky draw, the result of which is below. But before that...

Did you spot the Nina?

In keeping with Nina tradition, we did not call out its presence when we posted the puzzle. The lack of flagging, plus this Nina's non-linear arrangement in the grid, meant that it was easy to miss. And yet, two of our brilliant solvers spotted it – bravo Lakshmi Vaidyanathan and Arvind Ramaswamy!

तुमने पुकारा और हम चले आये – you called and we came. This song by Rafi and Suman Kalyanpur, from the movie Rajkumar, is a special favourite of our setter Kishore’s. [Hearing his lively talk about this song has convinced me he can write a dissertation on Rafi’s tremolo in the penultimate line of the first antara alone.]

The lucky draw to pick the winner is set to the musical prelude of the song - you can watch the draw in the video below. [Email subscribers: You may have to go to the blog for the video.]

Hindi Cryptic Crossword 6: Picking the Prize Winner

Well done Vasant Srinivasan, hearty congratulations! An Amazon gift voucher of INR 1000 will be on its way to you soon.

Congratulations too to all the other 17 solvers who completed the crossword, and a big thank you to everyone who attempted it. Hope you had fun!

Related Posts:

• Hindi crosswords on Crossword Unclued: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
• Contest: Participate and Win Afrit's Book
• Konkani Crossword

If you wish to keep track of further articles on Crossword Unclued, you can subscribe to it in a reader via RSS Feed. You can also subscribe by email and have articles delivered to your inbox, or follow me on twitter to get notified of new links.

Prize Puzzle: Hindi Crossword 6

We’ve had a mad scramble to get our latest Hindi crossword puzzle out just in time for Holi. Happy Holi dear readers! Kishore (aka Incognito) and I present our sixth collaboration over Hindi cryptics [previous Hindi puzzles here: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5]. This has been months in the making - we have had our debates about what is obscure and what is common knowledge, what needs ि and what needs ी, how to enumerate consonant conjuncts (more on this later) – and we have learned a thing or two in the process.

The finished puzzle now stands before you. Hope you have fun with it!

आर-पार 1  आवाज़ लगाई: "पुल के सामने वाले भाग पर अँग्रेज़ की गाड़ी है ! आ !" (3) 3  फिर ऊपर से (2) 4  पहुँच गए ? साये से सिर गायब है (2) 5  एक के पास 3 अंडे हैं | और 997 मिलने के बाद कितने हुए ? (3) 6   डमरू-दोलन का फल ? (4) 8  आभास ने लौटते हुए एक समारोह देखा (2) 10  सात पुश्तों से संयम-बद्ध संत-मुनि ये करें ? (2) 11  अम्मी, ठाकुर के पास कुछ स्वाद है (2) 14  काश! आ जाता पहले तो तुझे मिल पाता गगन (3) 16  साहिबा तसनीम की गुफ़्तगू (2) 17  कटनी (मध्य प्रदेश) में उगने वाला पेड़ (2) 19  शरीर का भाग जिसका पहला हिस्सा कम है और उसके बाद थोड़ा रमणीय है (3) 21  दक्षिण भारतीय व्यंजन बनाने की विधि (3) 22  ईद से पहले रस लो और यह दस्तावेज़ पाओ (3) 24  अनलकुण्ड में भी पानी का साधन है (2) 26  नमो-राहुल की गुटबंदी ने क़ैद कर रखी है ये चिड़िया  (2) 27  गरजता है अंदर से कि स्वर्ण से नीचे वाला पदक मिला (3) 29  बौद्ध सन्यासी होता है बिना माल के ही मालामाल (2) 31  वहाँ निवास किया जाए जहाँ का भेदी लंका ढाए (2) 33  दीन जब वापस आये, तो जल का प्रवाह पाए  (2) 35  हौसला लो, बम न फटेगा (4) 36  कह ले किसी भी तरह, पर धीरे से (3) 38  शुरू में चाय लेकर पैदल निकले (2) 39  आप और मैं मिल कर 32 का हिस्सा प्राप्त करेंगे (2) 40  आपने बिना तकल्लुफ़ के तुरंत मनमौजी नेवलों के सरों को पकड़ा (3) PDF format available here.

नीचे की ओर 1  इस पुल के टूटने पर प्रकट हुए नगर-रक्षक! (3) 2  राहुल का रास्ता (2) 3  मोहतरमा और तहज़ीब की शुरुआत ? (3) 4  जल्लाद मीर की अंदरूनी शख्सियत (3) 7  घड़ा जो मुंबई में जुए के लिए मशहूर है (3) 9  हिंदुस्तानी सात वार भी करे धुआँधार (5) 12  राष्ट्रकवि जमींदार भी हो सकता है (3) 13  बहुरानी के पास एक ऊँचे दर्जे का पत्ता है (2) 14  आग पहले से लगी है, मन में आ जाना (4) 15  शंका है तो शौक की मात्रा कम कर दो (2) 18  गुज़र मत हकलाते हुए ! ऐसा करने से बिगड़ी हुई चीज़े ठीक हो सकती है (4) 20  श्री कृष्ण जैसे दिल लुभानेवाले पूर्व प्रधान मंत्री (5) 22  बनारसी लालची के पास बहुत अर्क है (3) 23  बिरादरी की कीमत (2) 25  उलटी ताल में ये फ़नकारा बखूबी गायें? (2) 28  श्रीमान, उर्दू में बोलिए (3) 30   इंज़माम ले गया विकेट ! अब ढूँढो चर्चे के लिएअलग-अलग विषय (3) 32  बारह महीने का क्या भेद है, इसका मतलब समझे दया ! (3) 34  नदी के किनारे नाव को उल्टा कर दो, ए पागल (3) 37  उसके-तुम्हारे बीच में छुपा है राहु का साथी (2)

Notes On The Crossword

1. Word lengths are in syllables e.g. each of the words पहला, प्रथम, प्रदान, प्रस्थान will be enumerated as (3).
2. Complex consonants go into a single cell e.g. वर्ग will be split into two cells, the first with व, the second with र्ग. Similarly, प्रस्थान will be split into three cells, the first with प्र, the second with स्था, the third with न.
3. In wordplay, the matras may be treated independently of the letters e.g. राम when anagrammed can give मार or मरा.

Solving and Submission Instructions

1. Send in your completed entries to shuchi [at] crosswordunclued [dot] com, with the subject line "Hindi Cryptic Crossword 6 – Solution", latest by Friday 29th March 2019.
2. Entries should be legible and readable in a standard text or image reader (Word, Excel, PNG, etc. all fine). You can hand-write the answers with annotations, and send a scan if that works for you.
3. Solution words should be in Devanagari script. [Services like Google Input Tools can be used for typing in Hindi.]
4. Entries should contain annotations for the answers. Any annotation format is all right – words or symbols, Hindi or English – as long as how you arrived at the answer is clear. A couple of sample annotations for Hindi Puzzle#4 that work:
   

If you have questions related to solution submission, please post them in the comments section.

The Prize

The winner can choose gift vouchers on Amazon IN/US/UK, worth INR 1000 (or equivalent in USD/GBP).

The solver with the maximum correct answers, correctly annotated, will win. In case of ties, the winner will be picked by a lucky draw.

The solution to the crossword and the winner's name will be announced in a follow-up post after 29th March 2019.

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Edited: 4a for wordplay, 5a for spelling. Thanks @p1j, @hg6.
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Related Posts:

• How do you spell Ximenean in Hindi?
• Setting a Hindi Crossword: Lessons Learnt and Recommendations
• A crossword in Bahasa Indonesia

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Crossword Grids That Hold More Than One Letter Per Cell

This NYT Wordplay article Yes, You Can Write More Than One Letter in a Square and an ensuing twitter discussion got me to discover some fascinating grid-fill gimmicks used in advanced cryptics. One such is to set aside the one-letter-per-cell norm that we take as a given in blocked grid puzzles. The word or group of letters that goes inside a single cell is called a "rebus". [Long ago, rebuses were probably "squashwords" – more on that later in the article.] If the idea of many-letters-per-cell is new to you, then you're probably brimming with questions at this point. When did this trick originate? How does the setter go about crafting a puzzle with rebuses? What should the solver do to crack such a puzzle? Cryptic setter eXternal (Steve Bartlett) offers us insights into these questions. In this article, he looks at the history and development of puzzles in which individual cells contain more than one letter, and supplements his research with rare images of decades-old puzzles. Steve sets advanced puzzles in the series of The Listener, Inquisitor and Enigmatic Variations. In addition, he sets standard cryptic puzzles for The Daily Telegraph (as proXimal), The Independent (as eXternal), Financial Times (as ARTEXLEN), The Herald (as Boz) and The National (as Claymore). Note: The article primarily uses Listener examples, for consistency and because it has the longest history of the barred series. Over to you, Steve. - Shuchi

Many Letters in a Square: Dive into History

1. Listener (1950): #1047 Space Saver by Babs
    Compressed repetitions; LILO = LI/O

Here is a Listener crossword and solution from 1950, one of the oldest-known crosswords to employ the many-letters-per-square trick.

[click #1047 to enlarge]

The preamble of the puzzle states that only half the number of squares is to be used for each answer, hence an answer of four letters has a light containing only two squares.

For example, the answer to 1 Across:
Refuse the odd bits (8)
is RIFF-RAFF. This to be entered in four cells as R,I/A,F,F, with the I and A sharing the same cell, divided with a slash.

This crosses with 2 Down:
Disinfectant used to make Eliza ladylike (4)
in which the answer IZAL is hidden in 'Eliza ladylike' and entered as I/A,Z/L, using just two cells for the entry.

The preamble gives several examples of how the answers should be entered, to help the solver understand this unusual entry method.

2. Listener (1951): #1118 One or Two. by Stephanus  
    Random distribution: one letter in a cell or two

A Listener crossword from the following year, 1951, uses a simpler concept. A short preamble merely states that a 'space' contains either one or two letters.

[click #1118 to enlarge]

For example, the answer to 5 Across:
Post of Prometheus' hope - and fateful pain? (8)
DELIVERY is entered as DE/LI/V/E/R/Y, in six squares.

This crosses with 6 Down:
What's put the L in AIR? A tree, at least (6)
in which the answer LINDEN (L in DEN) is entered as LI/N/DE/N in four squares.

Interestingly, the solution notes allow an alternative, as the V of DELIVERY and N of LINDEN are unchecked, meaning that DE/L/IV/E/R/Y and L/IN/D/E/N would be equally valid. We seldom see such ambiguities in today's barred crosswords.

3. Listener (1961): #1640 Three-in-hand by ffancy
    Alphabetical sum

This example hails from a decade later, 1961. The puzzle has a complicated preamble to explain that each square accommodates three letters. This puzzle uses a gimmick commonly seen in modern barred puzzles, where Across and Down answers clash. Cell entries are derived from the letters of clashing Across and Down answers and the alphabetical sum of these two letters.

[click #1640 to enlarge]

For example, 1 Across CRACKER clashes with 1 Down KILDERKIN in the first cell. K and C are written in corners of this cell, with the sum C(3)+K(11)=N(14) in the centre.

A further point to note is that, unlike the previous examples, the 1961 puzzle is thematic. The solution leads to a quote on diagonals from cell 11 — PLEASE TO REMEMBER THE FIFTH OF NOVEMBER etc., using the central cell entries derived from the clashing letters.

So far, the examples have not attempted to coin a term for this particular genre. They merely describe in the preamble what needs to be done to solve and fill the grid.

4. The (Almost) Impossible Crossword Book (1984)
    The name’s Squashword

The next example is from Gyles Brandreth's The (Almost) Impossible Crossword Book (1984), with the actual puzzle probably dating much earlier.

Beside the title, appears the line, 'Shared Squares is a squashword'. This might lead us to believe that there was once such a term in usage for puzzles where squares contain more than one letter.

5. Listener (1998): #3479 Belt Up by MynoT
    Symbols for Clashes

The next example is from 1998, after The Listener crossword had moved to its current home in The Times.

[click #3479 to enlarge]

Here the clashes are generated using more than one letter contributed from crossing answers. This is typical of modern barred thematics, with the clashes resulting in a thematic word.

For example, the clue to 9 Across is:
Car's before them to perform — by the grace of god (4) DODGEM
DO + DG(Dei gratia) + 'EM

The clue to 4 Down is:
Note's small money (3) MINIM
MINI + M

Both answers are too long for the available space (6 letters for 4 cells; 5 letters for 3 cells) and clash in the crossing cell, with the clash of GEM from DOD/GEM and INI from M/INI/M to give GEMINI, entered as the sign of the zodiac.

Aside from the entry lengths (rather than answer lengths) being given, we can also note that there is no reference to clashes in the very short preamble. The solver must deduce the fact that some answer are overlong and therefore clash.

6. Listener (2002): #3673 Journey by Gioconda
    Abbreviations for Clashes

The final example comes from 2002 and has four entries sometimes clashing in one cell. As opposed to the previous example, answer lengths rather than entry lengths are provided.

[click #3673 to enlarge]

In this puzzle, 2 Across has four clues but only two lights. The solver can thus deduce that the first two clues will clash somewhere in the first light and the second pair will clash somewhere in the second light.

The first light of 2 Across is made up of 6 cells, but the answers to the first two clues have lengths of 5 and 7 = 12. Therefore, there will be a clash of 7 letters in one cell along that light.

The first two clues of 2 Across are:
Endless joke about half clad women (5) JADES
JES{t} around AD

Amount of water in pool crushed a dog-pen (7) PONDAGE
A DOGPEN*

Therefore, we have JADESPONDAGE to enter in the first light of 2 Across. We can see that DESPOND is a likely 7-letter candidate to be the clash in the third cell.

Then, we look at the Down clues on the column where the large clash from 2 Across occurs, ie column E. The first two clues in column E have answer lengths of 3 and 8 = 11, but a light length of only 4. Therefore, a clash of 8 letters will occur. The first two clues of column E are:

Court Henry with soft centre (3) HOF
H+{s}OF{t}

Cast off sledge bearing frightened Hugo (8) SLOUGHED
SL(HUGO*)ED

Therefore, we have HOFSLOUGHED to enter in the first down light in column E. The clash occurs in the second cell down, the same location as the clash in the across light, providing OFSLOUGH as the contribution to the clash. This is how the solver arrives at SLOUGH OF DESPOND, to be abbreviated as SOD as instructed by the preamble.

Clashes from multiple entries form places visited by Christian in The Pilgrim's Progress.

This is only a tiny overview of the multitude of ways in which setters have used this gimmick over the past 70 or more years. The puzzles where clashes of more than one letter spell out thematic words or names are particularly common and are often used to set the theme in advance of a further endgame which needs resolving.

Tips for many-letters-per-cell setters

In addition to the generic dos and don'ts of cryptic setting, be mindful of the following points when creating a crossword with more than one letter per cell.

1. Keep an eye on checking

Remember that overlong entry clashes reduce the amount of checking in the puzzle. It is more helpful to the solver if you minimise the proportion of the answer which clashes, or apply some technique to offset the effects of reduced checking.

As an example, take a theme of Santa's reindeer to be produced by clashing answers. When deciding how to generate DANCER, a nice 50/50 split of DAN/CER could be achieved with DAN/GEROUSLY and NECROMAN/CER (~27% clashing). The solver will have more help with checking from cells already populated than using, say, DAN/DY and UL/CER (~60% clashing).

You can also offset the effects of reduced checking by offering easier clues for those answers that might otherwise be troublesome for the solver – for example, through whole anagrams or hidden words.

2. Decide: Answer lengths or number of squares?

When setting many-letters-per-cell puzzle, you have a decision to make about clue enumeration: should you give the lengths of answers or the number of squares available for each entry?

If answer lengths are given, the solver has more guidance as to which answers are likely to clash. For example, in the clashing entries for DANCER to appear (see above), the number of cells needed to enter NECROMAN/CER will be 9, but the answer length is 11. Hence if the setter decides to give the answer length (11), the solver knows this is a clashing entry, as the number of available cells is fewer than the answer length.

It is a lot more common to provide entry lengths (ie number of available cells), so that the solver has to work out which are the gimmick clues.

3. Represent the clashes elegantly

Finally, you also need to decide how the clashes are to be represented in the grid. It is a little inelegant and fiddly to expect the solver to enter a seven-letter word, say, in a single cell.

Solutions to the problem could be for the solver to insert a symbol, abbreviation, first letter of answer or to leave the cell blank.

The method should ideally fit with the theme of the puzzle.

Tips for many-letters-per-cell solvers

From the solver's point of view, the more quickly the theme is uncovered, the easier the solve becomes. So you should be on the lookout for:

• answers which obviously extend for longer than the given number of cells
• likely crossing clues which could create a clash

Sometimes only a couple of clashes are needed to get an idea of what the theme might be. Once you have zeroed in on the theme, you can consider the identities of the other thematic items which might be hidden in clashes.

My thanks to Dave Hennings, Roger Phillips and John Tozer for their help in the research for this article.

– Steve Bartlett

A follow up article will talk about using crossword software to make puzzles with multiple letters per cell. Stay tuned! - Shuchi

Related Posts:

• Writing easy clues is not easy: a behind-the-scenes report ~ Dean Mayer (Anax)
• Clueing really long solutions in a crossword ~ Gordon Holt (Otterden)
• Alphabet Jigsaw Puzzles ~ Bhavan (Buzzer)

If you wish to keep track of further articles on Crossword Unclued, you can subscribe to it in a reader via RSS Feed. You can also subscribe by email and have articles delivered to your inbox, or follow me on twitter to get notified of new links.

Learn Cryptic Crosswords app by Teazel

I tried out this mobile app recently that shook me out of blogging hibernation. If you have friends new to cryptic crosswords and keen to learn, this might interest them.

Here are my impressions after trying it out on an iPhone. At this time, an iOS version of the app is available; the Teazel team tells me an Android version is coming soon.

Wish you a very happy 2018!

App Content

The first thing that struck me favourably about Teazel's Learn Cryptic Crosswords app is author Henry Howarth's concise writing style and selection of simple clues to demonstrate the clue types. Sample a page from Chapter 1 Hidden Words:

The app has six chapters and they pack in plenty of information: other than clue types, topics such as connectors, abbreviations, punctuation are touched upon and explained with examples.

The content is designed to be consumed in sequence. Each chapter ends with a practice puzzle to reinforce what you've covered till that point. As you traverse through the content, the app tracks your progress (you also have the option to reset your progress).

There are ten practice puzzles, and the difficulty level scales up gradually with each puzzle.

Practice Puzzle 1 is very accessible, with only hidden word and anagram clues in a 9x9 grid.

Practice Puzzle 2 adds charades to the mix in a 10x10. Practice Puzzle 3 includes reversals and deletions. Practice Puzzle 4 covers a wide range of clue types including homophones and double definitions.

By the time you reach Practice Puzzle 5, you are solving a standard 15x15 grid with compound clues and tricky wordplay.

The last five Practice Puzzles are from newspapers such as the Daily Mirror and Daily Telegraph, with introductory notes about the nature of grid and clues to expect in the publication's crosswords.

Practice Clues: Parsing Interactively

Cryptic beginners often ask, "How can I identify which is the definition, which the wordplay?"

This is tough one to answer. Cryptic clues have no tell-tale marks on the words proclaiming their roles. Sometimes we sniff out the indicator first. Sometimes we look at either end of the clue, work out which is likelier to be the definition, then try fitting the rest in jigsaw-style. Sometimes we wait for the checkers to show up. Sometimes we biff. There is no set way, but with experience, the process of parsing happens smoothly and quickly.

In this app, the practice clues give you ready insight into this process. The app shows you the clue and lets you pick the indicator and definition from a list. If you pick correctly, it green-lights your choice, else it turns it red.

Each clue type has a thoughtfully designed mode of interactivity.

Hidden word clues offer a slider to move over the fodder (or "ingredients" as the app calls it) to highlight the answer. When the slider is positioned right, a little celebration of stars livens the screen.

Anagram clues let you shuffle the letters around like Scrabble tiles, and drag and drop them in answer slots.

 

With deletions, the cross symbol marks the letters to be eliminated.

More intricate clues prompt you with descriptive hints.

Teazel Director James Brook says that finding a way of breaking the clues down, so that people can see the individual parts of the clues without just being given the answer, was the most challenging part of their development. He adds:

We have hopefully retained part of the challenge and provided an "ah-ha" moment despite the support given towards getting the answer. In the later chapters, the support is toned down further so that it feels like having someone with you helping you but not saying the answer.

Practice Puzzle Help

As you work on the practice puzzles, you can check your how you're faring at any point – how many correct/wrong answers, how many clues left to solve.

There are options to reveal letter/word/full puzzle, and to clear puzzle.

Each puzzle carries annotated answers that you can view per clue.

My favourite feature of the app is its Settings control of how to fill the puzzles: whether to skip filled squares or not, move on delete, etc. [Those who solve different puzzles interactively would agree that a mismatch between the method we're used to and the publication's fill style is the top reason for typos.]

Revealing errors when typing can be helpful for some, spoilery for others - it's nice to be able to switch this on or off, too. [Hope you're listening, The Hindu]

Cost

Chapter 1 is free, after which there is a single in-app purchase for GBP 4.99 / USD 4.99. The free chapter and its exercises should give you an idea of what to expect in the full pack.

In Closing

For cryptic beginners, Teazel's Learn Cryptic Crosswords app is a fine place to start. The interactive exercises should be especially useful if you are familiar with the rules and yet not making headway with newspaper crosswords.

Give the app a spin and if you like it too, spread the word. The website/download link is here.

Related Posts:

• Puzzazz: Puzzle e-Bookstore for iPhone, iPad
• Tim Moorey's How To Master The Times Crossword
• Who says documentaries are boring? Watch Wordplay

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