Big Dave’s Little Guide to Cryptic Crosswords

Websites

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Useful websites•••• << Back to Contents

There are a number of other websites of interest, a few of which are listed here. They are divided into sites which provide help with cryptic crosswords and sites which provide a toolkit for solving those last few clues.

Cryptic Crossword Sites

A Guide To Cryptic Crosswords (currently unavailable)

This page contains information about clue types, with an excellent description of the main types of 15×15 blocked grids.

Cryptic crossword page on Wikipedia

Wikipedia’s page is well-worth reading. It contains information about types of clue, the history of the cryptic crossword and many topics.

Peter’s Cryptic Crossword Corner

This site is a potpourri of information about cryptic crosswords, provided by Peter Biddlecombe.

Yet Another Guide to Cryptic Crosswords

Another site from Peter Biddlecombe, this one does exactly what it says on the tin. It includes an introduction (with glossary), a list of clue types, some solving tips, thoughts about bad cryptic puzzles, lists of paper and web-based puzzle resources, and some help on British cryptic puzzles for those who struggle with some of the local language used.

Toolkit

Ben’s Den – Crossword Phrases

This site lists just about any multi-word answer a UK setter might be expected to ask of you, from 3 to 23 letters. Proverbs, quotations, mottoes, people and places, literature, the performing arts, sport, common expressions, double nouns, plurals, verb inflections…over 800 categories of information.

Chambers Reference Online

This is a subscription-only site which provides the full power of both The Chambers Dictionary and The Chambers Thesaurus. A six-month subscription is provided free with every new copy of the Dictionary. Once you get used to using it, you’ll wonder how you ever managed without.  No longer available

OneAcross

Heavily biased towards the US market, this quirky site can sometimes come up with a word or phrase that the others have missed. It has a word search and an anagram finder.

OneLook Dictionary Search

Probably the most popular word search engine on the web. It is well-worth spending some time familiarising yourself with its wildcard patterns.

The Mine of Useful Information

Big Dave’s very own collection of useful lists. Most of the pages have been inspired by crossword clues.

The Universal Anagram Solver

This site uses a massive database of everything to solve anagram puzzles regarding any conceivable topic. Simply put the jumbled up letters in the box above and get an instant answer. It is particularly good at providing multi-word answers. A crossword solver word search has been recently added. A few words of caution – this site contains more misspelt words than most.

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