Utterly useless crossword clue how to#
Utterly useless crossword clue manual#

The first half of the book takes you from the simple, definition-only puzzle (the “quick” or “coffee-time” puzzle) through the various devices that cryptics use, with one chapter devoted to each.

Utterly useless crossword clue manual#

I’m glad to say that the Crossword Manual is nothing like that.

Utterly useless crossword clue how to#

It’s hardly surprising really, as most manuals are incredibly boring to read, especially now that the first few pages are often devoted to how to dispose of the spanking new gadget you have just bought. Most people (particularly the male of the species) prefer to press buttons randomly on the new microwave or dishwasher in the hope that they’ll do what’s required, and only hunt out the manual when the microwave bursts into flames or the dishwasher floods the kitchen. Now, we all know that nobody likes reading manuals. His clues are a byword for accuracy and fairness (more of that later) and it is his understanding of the needs of solvers at all levels which make him such a suitable author of a book like this. He is remarkable in that under his various guises he adopts a variety of styles: for example his Quixote puzzles (for the Independent) are usually easyish puzzles which appear early in the week, whereas his Pasquale puzzles (for the Guardian) are generally pretty hard. Where pseudonyms are used he appears as a variety of different Dons: Pasquale, Quixote, Giovanni, Bradman and Duck (the last more of a Donald).

Don is one of the most distinguished setters of the day, with many years’ experience of providing puzzles for national newspapers and other prestigious publications. This is where the Manual comes in, and without further ado I will introduce its author, Don Manley, whom I have kept waiting during my introduction. Most people are not so lucky, though, so where do they turn? So I was very fortunate to learn the basics of cryptics from my family (and even more so that they introduced me to my number one love, music). As it happens, Knocky didn’t like me very much, mainly because I was far more interested in Doctor Who than his history lessons, and I am sure he was quite “exasperated” that one of his star pupils didn’t get the answer! I put my hand up and suggested that the answer was EXASPERATED (eggs aspirated) – and that was the correct answer. Our history teacher, who to protect the innocent I will refer to by his nickname, Knocky, did the Times and occasionally tried out clues on his class. The first clue I ever solved unaided was actually at my prep school, when I was about twelve. The Telegraph, then as now, was a lot easier and I made enough progress as a solver that when I left home several years later, I was able to tackle puzzles with reasonable confidence. Some time after that I started to tackle the Telegraph puzzle with my Dad (both my parents were good solvers, especially my Mum in her later years). Before long I was doing the Times puzzle with him – “doing” in this case meaning that Grandpa solved all the clues while I made the occasional totally useless suggestion. On subsequent visits he’d write the answers in for my benefit, and explain how they worked.

“Too hard today, Grandpa?” I asked – rather naively as it turned out, because it then had to be explained to me that since he retired, he did the puzzle without filling in the grid to make it last longer. My Gran kept me occupied while Grandpa picked up his Times, stared at the back page for about half an hour, then put it down again without writing anything at all. He solved the Times puzzle, and I must have been about ten at the time I first saw him in action. My Grandpa introduced me to the idea of cryptic clues. If so, you can be introduced to this wonderful pastime at an early age, when the mind is more receptive to learning such things. How do you set about learning to solve cryptic crosswords? If you’re as lucky as I was, some of your family will be solvers. In this article I extol its merits, and offer some musings of my own on related matters. The Chambers Crossword Manual by Don Manley is now in its fifth edition. My Puzzles Guest Puzzles Contact Me Links FAQ