Welcome to The Clue Clinic – where people interested in solving or setting cryptic crosswords come to learn, sharpen their skills, and get expert guidance from experienced setters.
If this is your first visit, we would recommend visiting the About This Site page to get some ideas about the areas of the site which may be of particular interest to you and the ways in which you can interact with Clinic staff and other readers.
What’s New
The PDF of the latest Gemelo puzzle is available at this link: Gemelo 53
The PDF of the latest Azed puzzle is available at this link: Azed 2,785
In the October Digest, we discuss classic comedy, competition vs cooperation, and not one but two new clue-writing contests for you to enter
Latest Posts




Latest Comments
Latest Forum Topics/Posts
My error – when I said that in and into were separate headwords (which they are), what I meant to…
Without dissenting from the conclusions of your analysis of 3d, I’m not convinced that they apply in this case. If…
Ah, you have to know that is a variant of a variant to find it. Thanks, that was the last…
Having checked the printed dictionary, I can see that the issue relates to one of Chambers’ many endearing (?) little…
Thanks Doctor. Are there special instructions to the puzzle? I cannot find the form in 24a in Chambers 2016, though…
Hi Brian S1 The unique identifier for those registering comments on the site is their email address, and it is…
I’ve previously posted comments on Azed and Gemelo notes pages using the name Brian S, and so I was quite…
Thank you – that’s good to hear. I’m always happy to put a copy of the puzzle on this site…
Thanks for the advice. Your link worked for me when I used Edge, so problem solved now it seems.
In the meantime, here’s a link to Gemelo 53.
RE: New clue writing competition
Thanks very much for the comments so far – great to see some positive responses. As you may have heard, the Observer h…
By Doctor Cluelittle , 2 weeks ago
RE: New clue writing competition
I'd love to give this a go, even just to see how others tackle the same word, and to get possible feedback on my own eff…
By Biggles , 2 weeks ago
RE: New clue writing competition
I'm looking forward to that! I especially like the idea of the clues with constraints.
By Alex , 4 weeks ago
RE: New clue writing competition
I think a lot of us felt that way when we first started trying to write clues – either that, or we thought we were total…
By Doctor Cluelittle , 4 weeks ago
RE: New clue writing competition
That's great news, the sooner the better. I'll certainly give it a go.
By Anonymous , 4 weeks ago
RE: New clue writing competition
Pretty sure it's not something I'd stand a chance of winning, but sounds like a great idea!
By CluelessBeginner , 4 weeks ago
RE: New clue writing competition
Hi Dr Cluelittle, I would certainly participate if you were to do this. As you’ve just seen I’ve already jumped the gun …
By Jay , 4 weeks ago
New clue writing competition
I miss the monthly Azed clue-writing competitions. Even though I only entered a handful of them, I felt I learned a lot,…
By Doctor Cluelittle , 4 weeks ago
RE: Cruciverbiana
I think "I've only got one clue left" is the one bit of dialogue I failed to take into account in my construction (must …
By Dave Williams , 1 month ago
RE: Cruciverbiana
Hi Skirwingle, and thank you. Since RC says "I've only got one clue left" but his checked letters are just the closin…
By Doctor Clue , 1 month ago