Cryptic Crossword Hints & Tips

Cryptic crosswords are a great challenge for the brain, but they needn’t be scary. They’re not as deadly as the puzzles in the Exxilon City! Below are some hints and tips on how to complete them – Code Nine Anagrams: If a clue contains a word meaning “change”, such as “upset”, or “disturbed”, that means there is an anagram to solve. The words which require your attention are usually right next to the indicator word. Read more…

Cryptic Who – Link to the old site

Cryptic Who started life on another platform many moons ago. Back then, you had to print out your crosswords and do them by hand. How times change. However, I have no intention of there being missing episodes by dumping them in a skip – the link to the old site is here – Cryptic Who which will remain online as an archive, where you’ll find dozens of past grids! In the meantime, Allons-y! Code Nine Read more…

Quick Crossword 57 – Clara Oswald

Clara certainly saw a lot during her time with the Doctor. She met the Daleks, the Cybermen, an Ice Warrior, and even Father Christmas! That’s many varieties for Crossword 57…. As one of the longest-running companions, it’s only fitting that she gets her own crosswords. So jump into the Doctor’s time stream and fathom out the clues! – Code Nine x

Crossword 140 – Clara Oswald

Clara Oswald is a somewhat divisive figure in Doctor Who. Some fans like her, others really don’t. For me, this can be encapsulated in The Impossible Girl story. It’s a nice idea, and a great use of classic footage, but the implications are that she’s somewhere in every story and there’s no escaping her. She doesn’t even stay dead after Face The Raven. However, she is in so many stories, it would be remiss of Read more…

Quick Crossword 56 – Doctor Whodunnit?

As well as being a big Doctor Who fan, I am also an avid fan of Agatha Christie novels, and of the TV adaptations. For me, the Joan Hickson Miss Marple series cannot be improved upon. They are perfectly cast and wonderfully directed, so when The Unicorn and the Wasp was broadcast, I was over the moon that there was a crossover of sorts into Agatha Christie’s territory. This week, like Miss Jane Marple herself, Read more…

Crossword 139 – Doctor Whodunnit?

It’s no accident that Doctor Who has paid homage to Agatha Christie murder mysteries over the years in Black Orchid, Terror of the Vervoids, and the Horror of Fang Rock (amongst others), as both genres benefit from the same plot devices. A handful of characters with motives isolated in a remote spot or on board a ship, and a series of murders makes for a good Doctor Who adventure as well as one for Poirot Read more…