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SITE NEWS This is where we keep you up to date with any matters affecting the running of the website. Technical glitches can and do happen, and if we encounter a problem that will affect updates we'll let you know here. And of course we'll also tell you about plans for the website - new features etc. |
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23rd
JULY 2008 Work has begun on building an archive of entries for Pete Biddlecombe's invaluable Times for The Times blog. Begun in November 2006, this brilliant resource evaluates and explains chosen clues from the daily, Saturday/Sunday prize, Jumbo and Mephisto crosswords. The current blog format makes it impossible to set up a straightforward archive search system, so we're putting it here. As of today's date we've only listed about one month's worth of puzzles, but the up-to-date list shouldn't take too long. You can view the current state of play HERE. |
Times for The Times |
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4th
JUNE 2008 A slight scare. After having to replace the hard drive a few weeks ago there was, it seemed, another significant failure yesterday, and it looked like the next few days' updates were in jeopardy. Thankfully, an inspection of the hard drive reveals no faults and it may be something to do with a faulty peripheral. However, it's worth bearing in mind that missing daily sudoku updates are most likely going to be caused by technical glitches as it appears this old crate of a PC is beginning to show its age. |
Nearly lost it. |
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2nd
JUNE 2008 It is not envisaged that the sudoku archive will be added to, but we are introducing a daily interactive puzzle. As a sort of "identifier", each sudoku will be set at medium difficulty and will be based on top/bottom and left/right symmetry. Please note these daily puzzles will NOT be archived. Each puzzle has a link below it to a printable .pdf file. |
Daily Sudoku |
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8th
MARCH 2008 A BIT OF RESEARCH? This may - or not - turn out to be interesting. Anax was recently approached by a website asking for a link from UKPuzzle (which didn't happen as no return link was offered, but that's by the by) and as a matter of course Anax browsed their website. It included a guide to cryptic clues which included the example "Bar of soap (3,6,6)" - answer THE ROVER'S RETURN, which is the pub in Coronation Street. Anax Googled this clue and it turns up as a "classic" in a number of locations, which piqued his interest. The first proper cryptic crossword contract Anax had was with the Birmingham Post in the mid 1980s and one of his puzzles featured this clue. At a rough guess, it would have been around 1985. Cryptic crossword setting has a tradition - in most publications, at any rate - of anonymity, so website references to the "Bar of soap" clue give no indication of where it originally appeared. So, the question is: Was the Birmingham Post "Bar of soap" clue the original? It should be added that the clue was written by Anax quite independently, i.e. it wasn't a good clue remembered from elsewhere. Here's hoping someone can help. This is NOT some exercise in ego massage; in our opinion cryptic clues are discoveries, not inventions. But it would be interesting to know, at the very least, where/when this clue first appeared in print. Please EMAIL if you can track it down. |
Where did the clue |
