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Brendan, I think your 'on course' does indeed sound better, flow better.

Yes, I wouldn't write off a clue just for being lengthy, but I do prefer them to be slightly more elegant.

I think you’re all quite funny - like a bunch of guys discussing leaving the same girlfriend, but never actually doing so, because then you’d have to move on to Azed. Btw am I the only person here who got ‘lie in’ the other week because I ALWAYS literally lie in bed to do crosswords? This was mostly a fun crossword, but only when I had seen your comments on Lego and Bond...and then of course sheepish. I found this one and the last couple of weeks’ slightly more difficult, but still fun. Personally I find the ones loaded with anagrams easier (I admit!)

Are you sure we're all guys, Essay?

Essay, I'm quite happy to talk about clues, difficulty levels, all sorts or crossword stuff. I don't know where your 'have to move on to Azed' has come from - some of us have been doing that for years (and Mephisto and Enigmatic Variations and...)


At first I didn't realise your clues were from Everyman. I've never been a regular solver of that, but have been following the discussions about the new setter/setters. Different crosswords have different styles, and I'm not a fan of the stuff in recent Everyman puzzles, but it's quite good to see the odd clue here and there.

Note I said you are LIKE a bunch of etc. Not that you ARE etc. For all I know you could be “Large Telecoms Company which believes in gender ambiguity (4)”

Essay, I forgot to say that I was glad, in a way, that you liked the 'lie-in' clue. Although I thought it was awful, I hoped that personal preferences would mean that some solvers liked it. As you're a regular solver, it's good that you find the puzzle 'fun' - I think I'll continue to give it a miss (I'm sure it'll survive without me!).

Happy to explain. As a relative novice to the world of cryptic crosswords, I have found The Times Quick Cryptic the “easiest” to solve, the Everyman a good challenge, which fits into my normal vocabulary range, and which I can normally solve 70-100%, Times crossword pretty hard but can occasionally solve 100%, and Azed the most difficult of all, not least because half of the vocabulary is way out of my normal reach! The Listener is impossible...except if it is a number puzzle...which I can (almost) always crack. Hope this helps, SA

Thanks malone, always good for a novice to get some expert help along the way. The answer to my clue was (obviously) LGBT!

Essay, it sounds as if you enjoy the crosswords you tackle - so each to their own! I can do one in four Listeners - in some cases I don't even understand what's going on. Azed is indeed full of odd/unknown words, but I think the clueing is usually quite fair. Mephisto, in the Sunday Times, is usually slightly easier than Azed.

Hi Essay, I remember when I first began tackling cryptic crosswords I found them virtually impenetrable and will be forever grateful to this forum and it's users (too numerous to mention) for helping me gradually get to grips with the tricks, traps and conventions generally employed by setters.

Like you, I find the Listener next to impossible but I still enjoy the Everyman. It's true there's been a change of setter recently and he/she is still 'finding their feet' shall we say but, for what it's worth, I would recommend sticking with it.