Is the Times puzzle the best?

Author   petebiddlecombePosted on Categories Announcement
In a comment on 24146, jerrywh said: “Just to agree with Peter… surely nobody would seriously dispute that on average, overall, the Times Cryptic is the best crossword around?”

I pretty much agree with this assessment, but for me the Independent setters are giving the Times some strong competition. Things like the Times’s almost complete ban on thematic puzzles mean there are some Indie puzzles you could never see in the Times.

I’m less of a fan of the Guardian puzzles than I used to be – for me, some of the setters are given just a bit too much leeway in their clues and puzzle themes. A reason, of course, why some might say they had the best puzzles.

For me, the Telegraph lags behind a bit, not because the puzzles are easier, but because the grids are sometimes rather poor. It would be silly for me to comment on the FT because I so rarely get round to solving it. But I wouldn’t say to a solver of any of these puzzles that they really should try a different one instead. All five have at least some really good setters.

For me, having five puzzles with such a high standard every weekday makes us the luckiest bunch of crossword solvers on the planet. I know there are some other fine American-style puzzles to go with the New York Times, for example, but I can’t think of four others.

8 comments on “Is the Times puzzle the best?”

  1. I have been trying to keep up with the Times, Guardian and Independent – Phi turned me on to the Independent (his puzzles are usually Fridays) and most of the setters there write very good puzzles. I do the free online version which means you have to get the puzzle on the day (not a huge window for me).

    The Guardian is interesting – I don’t feel bad if I can’t work out clues there. The pdf of the Guardian crossword prints beautifully as a landscape page on my printer. I’m not a fan of the large number of cryptic definitions.

  2. The Times at its best remains for me the best daily cryptic. However, the majority run of the mill puzzles are no better than the Indie. I have to be in the mood for The Guardian, which I don’t take at all seriously. I stopped doing the Telegraph some time ago because it ceased to be a challenge and since retirement I haven’t seen an FT puzzle so can’t really comment.
    1. The FT crosswords are available free on its website, and, unlike the Indy’s, can be printed out. Easiest way to get to it, I find, is to go to Site Map and Crossword is there as a heading leading to crosswords not just for the day but past ones as well.
  3. This is my first (and probably only) post, but, being an American and a big fan of our crosswords, and thus actually have something to contribute, I shall:

    The New York Times is obviously the gold standard of American crosswords (even though I personally can`t stand the newspaper!), but the Chicago Tribune, the Wall Street Journal, and the Los Angeles Times can come close to matching it with witty themes and level of difficulty. The Chicago Tribune is actually quite difficult with its heavy load of trivia and obscure words, which could please some solvers, especially those with a fondness for quotations, as they tend to feature as themes. The LA Times is of the same style as the New York Times`crossword, and while I find it a bit easier, it`s still a pleasing solve with witty, comprehensive themes. The Wall Street Journal has a great Friday crossword as well which is far more interesting than one would expect, given the source. The Boston Globe (I hear) is also a tough solve, yet with not as much wordplay as the NYT or LAT.

    I think that a lot of the smaller papers just serialize the crosswords in bigger ones, so there are fewer options in general. But those that are there are good: when I lived in Chicago, I read the Chicago Sun-Times and enjoyed its crossword well enough (and it was also nice that the NYT one was serialized in it as well).

    However, since I now live in Europe, I read British papers, so do British crosswords, and have no preference yet, but like the comprehensive themes in the Independent, as they help overcome my lack of British knowledge.

    But, my point is, we Americans are pretty lucky as well! You should see the quality of the German crosswords over here…

    1. OK – sounds like an honourable draw for number of top quality puzzles between the countries with the best non-cryptic puzzles and the best cryptics. Given the mixed Brit/US history of crosswords, going all the way back to Liverpudlian Arthur Wynne’s ‘original crossword’ in a New York newspaper, this is right and proper!
  4. Last week the Guardian had a crossword where most the clues referred to two other clues ( you know the sort 8a did 3 turn nasty?) -which made the puzzle quite easy if you got the two clues but nigh on impossible if you couldn’t. The Grauniad solvers seemed tickled pink by this but , having failed to get the vital words,I thought it a waste of my time.
    1. I agree. The moment I look at a Guardian and see it’s one of those very irritating puzzles I normally just don’t bother. They had one that centred on “train” not long ago which I did but I didn’t even attempt the one you’re referring to. As I say, you have to be in the mood and never take them seriously.
  5. Hmm.. I am perhaps handicapped somewhat, by having other things in my life besides crosswords 🙂 -or more charitably, doing the Times cryptic perhaps takes me longer than some and leaves less time for solving other crosswords too. I do the Mephisto and The Week (Tim Moorey) and a few one-offs like the club monthly.

    Partly for that reason, I have never really warmed to themed crosswords of any kind, including the Listener. When time permits I will look at the independent, particularly if it’s free.

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