101 Cryptic Crosswords: From the New Yorker (Spiral-bound)

by Fraser Simpson (Editor)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Ready for something that really tests your brainpower? These puzzles--taken from the celebrated pages of The New Yorker magazine--offer more challenges per "empty square" than the average crossword! Every cryptic has a twist, a little something extra, a double-dose of difficulty. That's because the clues all have two parts: a definition half and a wordplay half, with anagrams, reversals, containers, and lots of other word games built in.


About the Author
ed. Toronto, Ontario

Product Details

• Spiral-bound: 96 pages
• Publisher: Sterling (June 30, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0806901861
• ISBN-13: 978-0806901862
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 8.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #318,627 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Welcome collection of small cryptics, March 28, 2001

By	William I. Johnston (Watertown, MA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The "New Yorker" ran slender puzzle column for a couple of years in a marvelous attempt to introduce cryptic crosswords to a larger US audience. These 8 x 10 barred diagrams were composed by many of the finest constructors around: editer Fraser Simpson, Mike Shenk, Trip Payne, Patrick Berry, and "Monika Zook" (a pseudonym for a well-known puzzle-constructing duo), and others.

These 101 puzzles have been collected into a lovely spiral volume, with two per page, on nice heavy white stock. A few minor typographical oddities mar the typesetting (apostrophe s constructions are spaced out and some there are minor type size inconsistencies) -- perhaps the result of its production in Hong Kong -- but nothing that will trouble solvers.

The standard of wordplay is high in these gems, and because of their barred diagrams and extensive checked letters, you'll find that with practice one of them can be solved in under half an hour.

Solutions are clevely shuffled in the back so that when you look up the solutions (and explanations) you won't accidentally see the solution to the next puzzle in the sequence.

I solved these in the magazine years ago but am glad to have the collection in one place. A delight.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Nice book of cryptics, October 19, 2005

By	Gregory John (Culver City, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I've been learning to do Cryptics from Games Magazine (they have 2 in each issue), and this set from the New Yorker is, as others have said, easier. Still very nice and satisfying for those who like to roll through one in under an hour. They are light, but light in the realm of Cryptics. The instructions and tutorial puzzles are excellent for the beginner.
The quality of the book is excellent. The pages are nice and thick (so the ink doesn't run through). For something meatier try: ISBN 0812935128.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Primer, June 6, 2005

By	Jared Orth (PGH, PA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

These compact puzzles are great for the cryptic fan who is still learning. They aren't as difficult as "Games" magazine's or Henry Hook's puzzles, so you won't be reaching dead ends all the time. While the puzzles are still very challenging, I recommend this collection for those who want to learn how to solve these fun, unique crosswords.