National Crossword Solvers Day

Today, 8 December, is National Crossword Solvers Day (in some nations) and I wanted to mark the occasion.

I’ve been wanting to learn how to solve cryptic clues for many years. I’ve had great admiration for those who could see the hidden words ever since a family friend showed me one, many, many years ago. As a child, I tried for a while to solve the types of crossword found in my parents’ tabloid newspaper that had both cryptic and straight clues and then to decipher the cryptic clue from the straight clue but they were always opaque to me.

A few months ago a friend introduced me to Minute Cryptic, which got me hooked very quickly. Minute Cryptic’s work has been really helpful in learning how to solve these clues, as well as providing a daily challenge that I get to share with a friend over Signal messenger.

For example:

Minute Cryptic - 8 December, 2025
“Went inside, texting “thanks xx”” (6)
🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣
🏁 Early solver! Just 458 people so far – I solved it with 0 hints.
https://www.minutecryptic.com/?utm_source=share

Minute Cryptic have also published a book, “Minute Cryptic: Over 160 Wordplay Puzzles to Decipher, Unlock, and Untangle”, which is a great step-by-step guide to solving cryptic crosswords.

I have also read David Astle’s book “Rewording the Brain”, which I recommend, not just for the guide to solving cryptic clues but also for the descriptions of the benefits of solving cryptic crosswords.

Most weekends now I’ll tackle a full puzzle, and I did solve a full grid on Saturday. Maybe when I return to the workplace in July, it may be something I do on the commute.