The Sunday Times clue writing contest

Reports including guidance about cryptic clues
1806: GASTRO-PUB + Introduction to cryptic clues
1807: GONDOLA + Structure of cryptic clue
1808: HEATH + Definitions in cryptic clues
1809: HYDROFOIL + Anagram and sandwich clues
1810: INTERCEDE + Homophone and double definition clues
1811: JUNIPER + Additive and cryptic definition clues
1812: LIEBIG CONDENSER + Hidden and takeaway clues
1813: MAGRITTE + Reversal and letter switch clues
1814: MICRO + All-in-one and novelty clues
1815: MUTTER + Hybrid clues
1816: NEWGATE + Surface readings, contest details


Reports for contests in previous years

2021
2020
2019
2018
2017
2016
2015
2014
2013
2012
2011

House rules not stated (for lack of space) on the puzzle page

Puzzle numbers are vital content in emailed entries - we use them to identify the entries for each contest. If you get the puzzle number badly wrong or leave it out, this will be detected by an email filter and you’ll get an email about it. But more than one contest is open each week, and if you use a puzzle number that’s too high by 1, it won’t be seen until it’s too late to move it to the right contest.

Number of clues: Entrants who have not won this contest since the beginning of 2011 are allowed to send up to three clues, preferably in the same email.

The word to clue should really be seen as a sequence of letters. So if we ask for a clue to GOON, you can write one for GO ON instead.

Across or down? You can treat the word as either kind of answer, if one of the two suits your clue.

Some other points about the contest

Explanations of your clues are encouraged, although they are not mandatory. If I can’t understand how your clue works, I certainly can’t choose it as the winner. It’s possible that you’ll use something I don’t understand, and an explanation can bridge the gap. But an explanation longer than this paragraph is practically always a sign that the clue is too complicated. Although you and I know the answer, the requirement for your clue to match our standards means it should be solvable for someone without that knowledge, though as in a real puzzle, possibly with help from checking letters.

The chance to send three clues may not be an advantage, as I think some of the best entrants devise more than one clue and then select the best, with the selection process offering chances to refine their chosen clue.

Sunday Times crosswords cheerfully ignore some of the rules enforced in Times ones. The most obvious example is that we allow well-known living people other than the monarch to be mentioned in clues, or to be the answer to a clue.

If you ask a question as part of your entry, I will see it and respond, but not until I do the judging. If you would like a quicker answer, you can contact me at the puzzle feedback e-mail address – [email protected]