Crossword Help Forum
Forum Rules

for someone starting out in cryptic crosswords and trying hard to learn the basics of it.. ive bought don manleys book and have a couple of other books on the hobby.. could someone run me through the path to take newspaper wise.. iam currently trying the daily mail but have read on this forum that their clues can be illogical sometimes.. any advice would be greatly welcomed by this new boy

Micky,
Not many people appear to do the Daily Express Crusader Prize crossword on this forum, but it is my favourite daily crossword. It's not easy but once you get used to the clue style you should be able to finish it most days. Most requests on this forum appear to be for the Daily Telegraph. I haven't tried this one but the clues appear of a similar standard to the Express from what I've seen.
Good Luck,
Ken.

Hi Micky.

I don't know enough to suggest a ranking of the different crosswords, but could suggest that the Daily Telegraph cryptic might be a good one to start with. I think it has a wide and active following, although I do confess that I don't do it myself.

A step up (in terms of hardness) would probably be The Times daily cryptic crossword.

Of course, if you already take a regular newspaper, the cost of taking another just to do the crossword might be a consideration.

Most of the big newspapers have websites archives of their crosswords available for free. You could look at some of these to get a feel of what they offer and the level of difficulty that you are prepared to work at.

Good luck - and good enjoyment of course, whichever way that you go!

Hi Micky.
You could try to find one where they give two sets of clues but the answers are the same.

I'd suggest sticking with the Mail for a while. The odd clue may appear illogical but I regularly post here for explanations and am rarely let down. I started a few months ago and can now finish the Mail most days. However, I only get a lot of the trickier clues once some letters have been found.

thank you all for the advice.. iam 6 away from finishing the mail today.. mine you i have consulted my dictionary for some words ive never heard of.. ie.. ORMOLU ... and LARGO.. but i supposed thats what its all about, learning new things.. and not trying to run before you can walk.. micky

I agree wth KenA. The Daily Express Crusader Crossword is an excellent cryptic for starters

I have been "doing" or not as the case maybe the Daily Telegraph crossword for about 8 years. It still amazes me that I can finish it one day and the next not even start it - it is a brilliant crossword shame about the paper really!!!

Micky,

You might find the cryptic crossword in The Herald (formerly The Glasgow Herald) a good one to start with. Archives go back about four months and can be downloaded from their website for free. You can also get the answers if you can't finish it, but only for previous days and not the current one. Have a look here:

http://www.theherald.co.uk/crosswords/

Thanks to you all for your advice. i bought the daily express today along with the daily mail. amazing theres a credit crunch and iam buying two papers. had a quick look at it and first impressions i liked it although it could be slightly larger in the actual size of it.. not the ammount of clues but the ammount of area to write in.. will give the telegraph a go on saturday ive heard thats a good one.. thanks once again for your time and imput..