The Clue Clinic

all about cryptic crossword clues

The Clue Clinic

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 54
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

  2. Barley.  I won’t rush to judge, just sedge my bets.

  3. It was an interpretation that I considered at some length, and I can’t say that it’s not what Gemelo intended…

  4. Thanks Doc, a tough one. In 15 I took ‘reverend’ to be ‘worthy of reverence’ and hence good. Thanks for…

  5. I remember a joke on those lines, which (according to Google AI) was told (or perhaps re-told) by The Riddler…

  6. Hi Doc.  A pleasant solve for me.  Not looking for assistance here, just a remark about your Garbo quote at…

  7. Hi Bob In 18d, a three-letter word for ‘decline’ is reversed (‘returning’) following (‘after’) the letter A (from the clue),…

  8. Been lurking on your very helpful and informative site for several weeks. Still can’t get that first letter for 18d!

  9. I should have seen that.

  10. Hi Iain I can confirm that the full text search returns (inter alia) ‘a/b’ for ‘Airborne’. Setters are allowed to…