Doctor’s Notes

“Excuse me, I mean, who’s doing this crossword, me or you?”

Posting in the Forum on the last day of September, Dr Clue shared a Two Ronnies sketch in which Ronnie Barker’s character attempts to solve the Mephistopheles crossword on a train, hampered by repeated interruptions from fellow passenger Ronnie Corbett as he struggles through the Sun Junior Coffee Time puzzle. Corbett insists on reading every clue aloud, but is petulant whenever Barker offers an answer or points out a glaring error.

In 2020, this skit inspired Dave Williams (aka setter and blogger Skirwingle) to create a barred puzzle using the clues read out in the clip. Building on Dave’s impressive work, while noting Corbett’s comments about unchecked letters, this month Dr Clue constructed his own American-style grid for the fictional puzzles which earned a double thumbs-up from Skirwingle. Dave and the Doctor certainly showed more appreciation for each other’s efforts than the aforementioned strangers on a train.

While the concluding comments in this decidedly deferential discussion were being posted in the Clue Clinic’s Forum – on 10th October – I was one of 113 competitors in London for the annual Times Crossword Championship. And this year the final (live-streamed for the first time) was pleasingly dramatic…

When Chloe Hutton’s hand was the first to go up, a ripple of excitement ran through the room. But Hutton – along with Peter Steggle and 14-time winner Mark Goodliffe – had made a mistake, entering SCARF instead of SNARF. Meanwhile 29-year-old Liam Hughes, who was second to hand in a completed grid, avoided this trap and was crowned champion – the youngest winner in the contest’s history. I think the results – Hughes first, Matthew Marcus second, and Hutton third – came as a surprise to the finalists as well as to us spectators, but everyone was very sporting, and Goodliffe was gracious in defeat and quick to congratulate the winners, despite coming fifth himself.

The following week, I was volunteering at a local art gallery on a cold wet afternoon. Footfall was low, but luckily I had the cryptic from the free copy of The Times given to competitors in my pocket. Another volunteer took an immediate interest and I hesitated… I’d been in “training mode” in the run-up to the Championship, focussing on solving at speed, so I felt about as enthusiastic about outside interference as the huffy commuter in a crowded train carriage. But I relented.

It was a challenge, but together we managed to complete it – aided towards the end by a third person, an artist who popped in to say hello. Two heads were better than one, and three heads better yet. Often a tentative musing from one of us would spark a new idea or highlight a different angle for the others to follow. It felt good to slow down, savour the clever clues and enjoy the penny drop moments. Several times I found that I only truly appreciated the setter’s artistry when one of my collaborators asked me for clarification.

So – competition or cooperation? As a solver, I can go either way. I do feel proud if I set a new personal best for the Times cryptic online or spot my name on the leaderboard. But mostly I solve puzzles purely for pleasure and at my own pace. And now that I’ve discovered solving as a team sport, I’m keen for more chances to collaborate. I plan to attend the Championship again next year and naturally I’ll be hoping to do a little bit better than I did this time. But the main draw for me will be the socialising between puzzles and in the pub after the event. A healthy dose of competition with a big dollop of community.

Clue-writing contests

Talking of competition – in case you missed the news, you’ll soon have two new opportunities to flex those clueing muscles…

This month, Puzzles Editor Caitlin O’Kane announced that the Observer‘s clue-writing competition will return on 31st January 2027 with Gemelo 63. Following in Azed’s footsteps, Gemelo will select three winning entries each month, along with very highly commended (VHC) and highly commended (HC) clues, which will be published in a monthly slip and feed into an annual honours list. A trial run will take place on 29th November with Gemelo 56 – a date for your diaries.

Well, it seems clue-writing competitions are like London buses – you wait ages for one and then two come along at once. As I posted a couple of weeks ago, we’re also launching our own monthly contest at the Clue Clinic. The format will likely be similar to the Gemelo competition, with the Doctors acting as judges, perhaps joined by a guest judge – a locum, if you will. We’re particularly keen to explore clues with constraints, and with that in mind I’ve been happily familiarising myself with some gems from Azed’s back catalogue, like ‘Right & Left’, ‘Spoonerisms’ and ‘New Year Resolutions’…

If you have any thoughts on our proposed contest or reflections on what’s worked well or not so well in similar competitions, please add your comments to the discussion. And do look out for further announcements – we’ll be sharing more details in due course.

Clinical Observations

A quick round-up of the Observer’s barred puzzles in October:

• Azed 2,784: Plain, 2.5/5. Azed’s latest offering sent us searching for irises, hunting haggises, and wondering whether peas should be sewn or sown.
• Gemelo 50: Special ‘Anagram Act’, 3.4/5. This puzzle – in which every clue contained an anagram that had to be unscrambled before solving – went down well with commenters: “superbly constructed” with some “delightful” surfaces.
• Gemelo 51: Plain, 2/5. At the easier end of the spectrum, with headless chickens, large swimmers, and a partridge and a pear tree.
• Gemelo 52: I thought this puzzle contained a lot of devious misdirection, though votes cast so far suggest that you weren’t fooled!

Clinical Data Updates

October was a bumper month for modifications to the Clinical Data lists. This was thanks in no small part to Bhala Pasupathy, who sent through a series of spreadsheets with suggestions for changes. Following a detailed review of these submissions, a considerable number of updates have been applied to the lists, mainly in the form of additions. All the changes made during the month can be viewed in the Clinical Data Change Log; those based on Bhala’s suggestions are dated 07/10/2026.

The lists will always be a work in progress. If there are items that you think are missing, or entries in the lists that you believe shouldn’t be there, do let us know, either by email or through a comment on the main Clinical Data page.

Poll of the Month

Results of September poll

We asked for your views on the future of cryptic crosswords, in light of the news that the Independent would be discontinuing its series. The turnout for the poll was relatively low – I wonder if this is a reflection of uncertainty or insouciance…

As to the votes received: 33% of you took the middle ground, seeing cryptics as “in a stable condition for now”, while 27% sensed “plenty of reasons for optimism”.

The remaining 40% of votes was evenly split between “fit as a fiddle” and “requiring intervention”.

We were relieved to see that none of you think the cryptic’s days are numbered.

October Poll

This month we’d like to know how you feel about competition and cooperation when it comes to cracking a cryptic.