About Crossword Man

Ross is British and had an interest in word puzzles from an early age – he began solving cryptic crosswords at school with the blocked grid puzzles in The Daily Telegraph. At university he looked for something more demanding but somehow missed out on The Times daily puzzles, graduating to thematic cryptics with barred grids like Azed in The Observer, Mephisto in The Sunday Times and The Listener Crossword, first published in 1930 in the BBC magazine of the same name.

After many years of persevering with the notoriously difficult Listener puzzles, Ross established a record for consecutive correct solutions (224 from 3030 to 3254). This run ended in 1994 when Ross became a co-editor of The Listener Crossword (now published in The Times every Saturday and offered online by The Times Crossword Club).

In 2002, Ross edited The Listener Crossword Book 1 - 60 outstanding examples of The Listener Crossword originally published in The Times between 1991 and 1995. This is the first collection of Listener puzzles in book form since 1980 and makes an excellent introduction to the world of thematic cryptics. This book is offered In Association with Amazon.co.uk and can be Ordered Here.

Ross has since been involved in editing and proof-reading several crossword reference books and crossword anthologies.

Magdalen is a latecomer to cryptic crosswords and, as an American, finds the British cryptic clue style difficult but not impossible. Resources like TEA Crossword Helper and Sympathy Crossword Construction have proven themselves to be invaluable, particularly when attempting to compose a thematic cryptic puzzle. Reference books like Brewer's, Chambers Crossword Dictionary, and the Oxford Dictionary of Quotations become vital for an American used to the New York Times crosswords.

As a former satisfied customer of Ross's software programs, Magdalen is happy to help out as he launches Crossword Man from its new home in the United States.