Cryptic
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1ACCWC #555 – FREEBIES – Results
Thanks to Ramki Krishnan for hosting the contest. The contest elicited some clever ties in common cryptic surfaces: “on the house”, “giveaways,” “handouts,” “no charge,” etc. were often used definitions. Wordplay in several clues used beer/fries), insects (BEE), chips/fries, or anagrams/containers involving those elements. Voter comments focused on indirect anagrams, same-root issues (using “free” directly
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1ACCWC #554 – BRAIN ROT – Results
Thanks to Kalyan Bandyopadhyay for hosting the contest. This week’s 1ACCWC #554 on BRAIN ROT saw solid turnout with 28 entries and lively community. Ramki Krishnan crushed it with 41 points (16 voters) for his acrostic gem: “Mental decline from baseless rumours and idiotic nonsense read on Twitter, primarily? (5,3)” Spot-on topical surface ranting about
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My journey in IXL 2025
As I sit here nursing a mild crossword hangover (and wondering why my brain still feels like it’s chasing anagrams at 3 a.m.), I can finally say: the IXL 2025 online season is done. Ten rounds, ten Sundays of pure cryptic adrenaline, and the results are out. What a ride. For the uninitiated, IXL is
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Solve as you go – Mind Enthusiast’s HT puzzle
Here’s my latest video, attempting today’s Cryptic Crossword in The Hindustan Times. The puzzle is by Mind Enthusiast, who has also set several puzzles in 1Across as “The Oracle” Check out this video and others, Like or Subscribe at https://www.youtube.com/@sowmya_ram
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A Clue A Day – Global Contest
Hello readers. 2025 has started with a bang for cryptic crossword lovers. Extra C, the organization behind the very successful IXL (Indian Crossword League) announced a daily cryptic clue contest called ACAD Global (A Clue A Day Global). The competitive phase started on February 1st and since then, each day a new cryptic clue has