Hello, solvers!
A couple of years ago I started making quiptic puzzles for an American audience. I’d recently fallen in love with UK cryptic crosswords and wanted to share the joy with others, but the introductory puzzles over there were simply too hard and culturally specific for most of my fellow Americans. I could find nothing to bridge the difficulty gap between the excellent straightforward offerings in The New Yorker and the beguiling, almost magically deceptive ones in The Independent and The Times.
I took the name from The Guardian’s introductory Quiptic puzzle, and the grid shape and smaller size from The Times Quick Cryptic. My idea was to be as deceptive and inventive as my heroes overseas, but with simpler devices. I eventually decided to use only one device at a time, and included “helper” versions of the puzzles which told solvers which to look for in each clue.
I made 40 quiptics back then (39 released), and decided to call it a day when paid cryptic work started taking up more of my time. I’m honored that folks still recommend them to beginners, and I love that people still enjoy them today. That said, I’ve grown a lot (and am still growing) as a setter. I do more published cryptic setting now and even get to edit a little. When I look back on the old quiptics, I see a lot of flaws, and that’s why I’m giving you a new nonet, bringing the count up to 50. I feel all solvers, old and new, deserve the very best work I’m capable of. These ones are up to standard as of the week I made them in December 2023. Maybe I’ll look back in a year, see a bunch of new flaws and do this all over again.
What you’ll find in this set:
- One device per clue.
- Definitions located at either end of the clue which are intentionally harder to isolate than those in many American puzzles.
- Surface senses which prioritize natural English and plausible scenarios, like those in my favorite UK puzzles.
- Almost no linking words between definition and wordplay (1 in 178 clues).
- Hopefully, no uncommon abbreviations and a minimum of cryptic-specific language.
- 100% accurately defined wordplay and answers.
- Question marks to indicate all silly, surreal, extra deceptive, or punny definitions.
You’ll encounter the following wordplay devices, which you may reveal to yourself by selecting “get a hint” in the “Reveal” menu:
Anagram: scramble the letters in an adjacent word or phrase to the indicator. “broken plates” = STAPLE, “stays around dancing” = SUNDAY ROAST, “cheat and bleed terribly” = DELECTABLE, “coterie struggling with cheats” = RICOTTA CHEESE, etc.
Charade: Assemble synonyms of the words in the clue (or the words themselves) to make an answer. “about time” = C (circa) + AGE, “for each boy” = PER + SON, “a flower” = A + ROSE, etc.
Homophone: find a homophone for a synonym of the word in the clue. “beer for the listener” = AIL
Container: place synonyms for words in the clue (or the words themselves) inside each other. “cat the lady holds” = S(CAT)HE, “after noon, splitting breakfast food” TO(PM)AST, etc.
Reversal: reverse a word in the clue or a synonym for it. “’tis backwards” = SIT, “flipping awful” = DAB, etc.
Double definition: two meanings of the same word. “top 40 fare slaps” = HITS, etc.
Punny double definition: a double definition in which one of the definitions isn’t a real thing, accompanied by a question mark. “like the stuff on a baker’s apron” = FLOURISH (FLOUR-ISH), etc.
Alternation: every other letter of a word or phrase in the clue. “oddly crafty” = CAT, “as WWE events, regularly” = SWEET, “occasionally lost in kitchen” = NICE, etc.
Acrostic: every first, last, or other letter of words in a phrase. “starts to make it too tough” = MITT, “scour the whole wharf, ultimately” = REEF, “only seconds from Arby’s, my dude” = RYU, etc.
Hidden: words or phrases that are actually spelled out between words in the clue. “seen across Portugal and in Greece” = LANDING (portugaL AND IN Greece), etc.
Deletion: remove a letter or multiple ones from a word in the clue, or its synonym. “nearly finished” = DONe, “topless warrior” = kNIGHT, “finally put out fire” = FIRe, “make art without Steve” = PAiNT, etc.
Palindrome: find a palindromic synonym for part of the clue: “propeller going back and forth” = ROTOR, etc.
Letter shift: move a letter from one location in the word to another. “stomach-turning predator” = LION becomes LOIN, etc.
These quiptics were test solved by Will Eisenberg, who has done so with every single one I’ve ever made. He’s a great puzzle maker with an excellent eye for fairness and elegance.
Good luck, and happy solving!
-Steve
Square Pursuit 