Crossword News April 2025

The March Prize Puzzle was RR XVII = Round Up. Extra letters produced by wordplay in the clues give SEARCH WITH FOUR SYM ENTRIES – TITLE OF BOOK – THE FEAT. The four symmetrical entries are FRANK HEATH GYPSY MOTH. Solvers had to change five entries to provide the title of Heath’s book FORTY MILLION HOOFBEATS and the feat FORTY-EIGHT STATES. The title cryptically suggests going round on horseback.

Here are some of the comments from solvers.

An ingenious puzzle with a theme previously unknown to us - very entertaining. Though not requested, we felt the need to highlight relevant entries.....We found the clues to be generally challenging with each contributor submitting a 'prize-winning' clue. The variety of clueing styles added to the trickiness, but all were fair and we think we've sorted them correctly.  Thanks to the setter and all contributors - good fun.

As usual with the Round Robin puzzles, this was a real mixture of clues which does make for an entertaining solve. I found a few of the extra letters difficult to tease out, making the end message a bit difficult to decipher but I got there in the end. The 4 most likely candidates for the book title soon leapt out and a bit of internet research provided the rest of the information. This was a totally new subject and interesting to read up on. The grid construction is impressive with the changed lights retaining real words which helps to confirm a correct solution.

Another great challenge, I completed the grid a fortnight ago but the final step eluded me until yesterday. I have to admit to a scientific approach of taking all the symmetrical quads then testing them with a google search, as I had never come across this pioneering story before! I'm glad I have now, because it's intrinsically interesting.

 

There were 41 entries, of which 15 were marked incorrect. 11 of the 15 errors involved ARIES for ARIEL...probably overlooking the wordplay - "bunch of letters" - that led to ARLA (Association of Residential Letting Agents) - not just a random bunch of letters.

The lucky winner, picked from the electronic hat, was Andrew Varney, who will be receiving a prize of Chambers Crossword Dictionary, which was donated by the publishers.

Solvers were asked to vote for their favourite clues. The clear winner, with 20 points, was the clue to DOWNBEATS by Jugular, Tim Coates.

Two bad ones, surprisingly they are the opposite of arses

2nd SECRETA 15 points Geri Cashell
3rd FRISKAS 14 points David Whyte
4th TESLA 14 points Terrence Brennan
5th MOORISH 11 points Colin Thomas

I will be sending Tim a prize copy of Armchair Crosswords by Afrit. Thanks are due to Wan for designing the grid and to all the volunteer clue-writers who make the Round Robin such a unique puzzle. The next Round Robin is already accepted for next year. This was the final puzzle for marker Robert Teuton and I am sure we would all like to thank him for his sterling work.

As usual, we welcome submissions of puzzles.
There is a solution at https://crosswordcentre.blogspot.com/2025/04/solution-to-round-robin-xvii-round-up.html

You still have time to solve our April puzzle, Tan Goes so Stripey by Vismut. The new entry system is working well and we have 27 entries so far. For anyone having problems entering a solution on a phone or tablet, you can now enter the answers and there is a box where you can describe the final grid.

https://crosswordcentre.blogspot.com/2025/03/april-2025-prize-puzzle-tan-goes-so.html

The May Prize Puzzle will be Gig Economy by Wan.
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The 47th American Crossword Puzzle Tournament took place on the first weekend in April. The winner of the event was the 2024 champion, Paolo Pasco, who completed the final grid in 3 minutes 40 seconds. All the results are here https://www.crosswordtournament.com/2025/index.htm

A more personal account is from Adam Roberts.
https://amateurgourmet.substack.com/p/i-went-to-the-american-crossword
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The Azed 2750 lunch will be held in Oxford on Saturday 3rd May. If you are unable to be there, Dave Tilley has volunteered to stream the event on Zoom.

Viewers should be able to tune in to see Azed and the guest speakers from around 15:45 using the following link:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/6528014392?pwd=aTF4ZnY1R0RsNkp3NmFocjltOSttQT09&omn=82029835893

Meeting ID: 652 801 4392

Passcode: 9673
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Jane Teather has now put the Table Quiz from the Listener Dinner on her website.
https://www.jetdoc.co.uk/crossword-and-quiz-links
Shirley Curran has allowed us to see all her photos from the Dinner and in the pub on Flickr
https://www.flickr.com/photos/194321761@N03/albums/72177720324458416/
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LISTENER STATISTICS, plus a personal solving record, for last year may be requested by email to marker@listenercrossword.com, or by sending a stamped addressed envelope measuring at least 230mm×160mm (overseas stamp exempt) to N Aspland, 19 Fairfax Drive, Pontefract, WF8 1NU,
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And finally, was there an April fool crossword this year?
https://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/crossword-blog/2025/apr/07/the-guardians-april-fool-crossword-explained-plus-the-other-papers-fooling

Best wishes
Derek Harrison