"The solver has to work out which are relevant to any clue before actually solving it."Īnd three-quarters of solvers in her studies describe cryptic crosswords as a uniquely satisfying puzzle form. "Cryptic crosswords comprise a compendium of different types of brain teaser, so you get a lot of variety within each puzzle – anagram clues, acronym, puns and riddles," says Kathryn Friedlander, who does research in cryptics at the University of Buckingham's School of Psychology. In a TED talk at London's Royal Albert Hall in 2013, Halpern described them as a celebration of "the hidden magic within language". I see wordplay patterns in the street, on the bus, at parties."Ĭryptic crosswords uniquely combine creativity, knowledge and logic, with a plentiful dash of style and wit. Instead, my first thought was 'It's the word 'men' inside the word 'aria'. Most normal people would immediately think: 'Interesting – tell me something about Armenia'. "Instead I asked where the name came from. "When she told me her name, the first thing I thought was it's an anagram of 'entail' – though I didn't tell her that!" he reveals. Halpern tells me about the day he met his wife. Let's begin a playful language journey with a dip into the mind of John Halpern, whose brain-teasing puzzles grace the UK's top newspapers under various pseudonyms.
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