Small-sized cryptic crosswords at a beginner difficulty. One device per clue 99% of the time, with a helper versions that tell you which sort of clue to look for. Simpler in terms of mechanics than other beginner puzzles like The New Yorker or New York Times, but more challenging in terms of deception.
It’s been such a long time. I hope you’re doing well! I know I haven’t shown up here in a while, but I’ve been busy with a bunch of other stuff. I’m still making my two monthly variety cryptics over at Square Chase (quickly approaching the big 1-0-0!), as well as fun ones for newspapers in the US and UK. I’m also still editing cryptics at AVCX, which is a great time. My co-eds are so fun to work with!
Anyway, I caught a bug a couple of weeks ago and decided it was time to rip out a new set of these for everybody to enjoy. There’s a bit of a manifesto about how my Quiptics work a couple of posts back if you want to go read it, but basically:
These are one-device-per-clue puzzles with an emphasis on natural language, concision, deception, and fair play. They are not particularly easy compared to most North American cryptics, and quite easy compared to most British ones.
They’re intended as a bridge for those who want to learn how to solve subtle, tricky clues. They’re also appealing to my speed-solving friends who like to try to smoke each other while blowing through them head-to-head.
If you choose to see a hint on a clue using the online interface, you’ll be told if it’s an anagram, charade, homophone, or whatever. I hope you enjoy the puzzles!
Every single one of my Quiptic crosswords has been vetted by my trusted crossword bud Will Eisenberg, who makes awesome puzzles in all your favorite venues, as well as for his site Half-Baked Puzzles. Thanks, so much, Will!
I thought it would be fun to pop in with a puzzle today. For those who don’t know, this is an 11×11 cryptic crossword in which each clue contains only one device. You can reveal said device while solving the puzzle if you need a little help. It’s easier than most UK crosswords and harder than a lot of North American ones, and intended as a bridge for solvers.
Thanks to longtime tester and puzzle bud Will Eisenberg for giving it a look.
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.
I’m back with something from the vault for you! This is a quiptic from back in 2021, which was dredged up briefly as a freebie for the St. Louis Crossword Puzzle Tournament in 2023. I figured it was doing nobody any good sitting on the hard drive so here it is. I tweaked a couple bits to avoid wordplay too similar to that in other puzzles, but aside from that it’s warts-and-all. Watch out for the letter selection indicator in one clue that makes it a 1.5 device moment. Thanks to Will Eisenberg for the test in the distant past and to Shannon Rapp for making a bunch of innocent Midwesterners solve it last year.
The format is a bit different this time — I’m just putting up the online puzzle. It’s easily printable in the interface. You can go to “get a hint” in the “Reveal” menu to see the helpers on demand if you like (this spoils only the type of device being used in the clue). The parses for the answers will pop up upon solving or revealing.
This is the last quiptic I’ve got, aside from the giant pack of fresh ones that I’ll be dumping here in the next couple of weeks. Since people come solve my old ones a lot, and I am a work in progress, I’d rather folks see what I can do now rather than what I used to be able to do. Keep your eyes peeled!
This final quiptic marks the end of an era. When I made the first of these, the cryptic crossword landscape in North America looked fairly different than it does today. I started the series to give folks a chance to sharpen up their skills so they could begin tackling the British puzzles I like so much. We now have a much stronger solver base here than we did before, and more in the way of quality cryptic options as well.
In truth, my taste still leans towards the British crossword, and I think that’s what makes this bunch of 39 puzzles unique. Always straightforward, never a pushover, and constructed in the spirit of the clue writers I admire most. 39 quiptics on the site should be a good amount for anybody looking to run the gauntlet on their way to whichever puzzling destination they’d like.
I’d like to give my appreciation to Will Eisenberg, who somehow managed to test solve every single one of these things. He’s a thoughtful constructor and crossword theorist, and the sort of person I’d trust 100% with one of my puzzles in his hands.
With this last quiptic, Square Pursuit is going to become a “puzzles will appear whenever I’ve got something cool to share” project. Thanks to the folks who have come by on the regular in the past. Though the schedule won’t be static, I’d love to use this space for some cryptic collaborations and variety puzzles next year, and am especially excited to be bringing you “Eight Cryptic Nights,” a midi variety cryptic meta suite with an installment dropping each night of Chanukah in December.
Aside from Square Pursuit, I invite you to give my Patreon variety cryptic service Square Chase a try. I’m bowled over by how big it’s become in its first year and am endeavoring to make each puzzle as good as I can. The volume of solvers engaged with these puzzles is not lost on me, so I’m really pushing. And yes, it will continue through 2023 as well.
You’ll also be able to see me in the Browser, where I continue to offer tough 15x non-variety cryptics. You can find my non-cryptics in the Newsday Saturday Stumper once a month. More of both kinds of puzzles should be popping up in other places too. I’m looking forward to stretching out next year — maybe I’ll even have a crack at the UK papers someday!
Take care and enjoy the puzzle, stay tuned for “Eight Cryptic Nights,” and look out for me in the wild tomorrow. Big cryptic day.
I hope you’re doing well wherever you are. I’m always excited to post a quiptic, and this one’s no exception. It’s got one device per clue, which you can see ahead of time in the “helpers” version, if you’re into that sort of thing. My guess is this one is on the harder side for what it is, but you never know! Thanks to Willfor test solving.
Take care and enjoy the puzzle! Larger, harder cryptics coming soon.
Thanks for stopping by. As usual, this quiptic contains only one wordplay device per clue and comes with a “helpers” version revealing the type of device ahead of time. I hope it’s fun for new and seasoned solvers alike.
Thanks for coming by. Here’s your first quiptic of the fourth quarter, and I do so hope you enjoy it. As usual, it’s a one-device-per-clue puzzle, with a helpers version which reveals said device up front. I’ve got an unusual one in there that should be fun if you spot it. Thanks to Will for test-solving.
I’ve got some fun cryptics popping up in a few different places over the next two months, and I’m looking forward to sharing those with you as well. Stay tuned!
Take care and enjoy the puzzle! Back in two weeks with another quiptic.
Thanks for stopping by. Today’s quiptic, as usual, contains only one device per clue, which can be revealed to you ahead of time should you choose the version with “helpers.” I hope it’s fun for solvers old and new alike.
Hello, Quipsters! I hope the dog days have treated you well. I’ve got a fun one for you with some longer stuff in it this time around. As usual, it’s one device per clue, revealed freely in the “helpers” version. Thanks, as always, to Will for test solving.
It’s my turn again at The Browser this weekend. If you haven’t gotten to check these cryptics out yet, I highly recommend a reasonably-priced subscription. I’m on a roster with some of North America’s most excellent setters, and there’s a really wide range of styles represented. I’ll be chasing it on Monday with a very silly Square Chase variety cryptic.
Speaking of awesome fellow Browser setters, I’ll be a guest on Will Nediger’s Twitch stream at 9PM on August 18th, joining him and ace solver/cryptic experts Hayley Gold and Al Sanders to learn about Stephen Sondheim’s cryptics and tackle one of his classic puzzles. I hope you can join me then!
That’s all from me! Take care and enjoy the puzzle.
Square Pursuit 