Product Description

If you've ever looked at cryptic crossword clues and wondered how anyone even begins to solve them, then here is your answer. This easy to follow fun guide shows how anyone can learn the logic behind these puzzles and become cryptically expert. It covers all aspects of cryptic clues, from anagrams and homophones to synonyms, and includes explanatory articles, sample clues and some simple practice crosswords, with full analysis of the solutions.

Crosswords are an endless source of entertainment and a wonderful way of exercising the mind. Learn how to tackle a cryptic crossword - and join the hundreds of thousands of people who are already addicted!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3483 in Books
• Published on: 2001-09-21
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 144 pages

Customer Reviews

Really helpful approach and FUN!
I have been doing quick crosswords for years and although I was beginning to find them a bit simple I had always thought the cryptic ones too daunting, and all my previous attempts to learn had failed in confusion and disillusionment... but I decided to give them another go, using this book to start. What i really appreciated is that she weans you from quick crosswords onto the different sorts of cryptic clues one at a time, so that you can use the skills you already have to build on, and to verify your own progress. This book was really helpful and suited perfectly to someone who enjoys quick crosswords already, as you can enjoy the achievement of the example crosswords using many of the skills you already have, rather than spending ages staring at the page getting baffled and dissillusioned without really knowing where to start(which had been my previous experience of trying to learn cryptic technique.) An excellent gap-bridger.
Lots of example crosswords too, (30 altogether) and all with well explained answers in the back (an absolute must to have the explanation as well as the answer to every single clue if you're trying to learn, by the way- something to look out for!) It also contains a few "word banks" of commonly occuring oddities peculiar to cryptic crossword solving- again, worth looking out for in other books.

Will help crossword beginners
This book is an introduction to completing cryptic crosswords, with special reference to the Daily Telegraph's (one of the more tractable). All the different types of clue are explained and illustrated, and there are special crosswords for you to practise on, where the types of clue are flagged. As ever, I'd have liked more examples, and more on the approach to take when tackling a crossword, and as yet I still haven't managed more than half a crossword - but that's more than a couple of weeks ago...it's a bargain.

At last, something to fill my weekends with!
I've been desperately trying to crack the world of cryptic crosswords and now it's possible! As a project manager, this book helped me to take a methodical approach to tackling the otherwise daunting crossword and proved that it's all based on logic, not intelligence.