Meet the crossword setter, Professor Serpent: ‘There’s no point in making it too hard or too easy’

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The latest in our series where we turn the tables on the torturers. Under the spotlight this time is the former maths professor Jason Crampton, AKA Jack and Serpent

At least a couple: Monk is a professor of mathematics at Leeds University and Sabre – setter of brilliantly fiendish barred puzzles – is also a maths professor, at Arizona State University.I think successful clues contain at least one of the following: humour, misdirection, oblique definitions and inventive wordplay. An unsuccessful clue contains inaccurate cryptic grammar or definitions.

The wordplay can be thought of as expressions in a formal language, in which wordplay elements represent variables and wordplay indicators represent operators on those variables. I find it very helpful to think of clues in this way when I’m analysing whether the cryptic grammar of a clue is correct. Also, the process of preparing puzzles for publication, especially when one is trying to first get published, has similarities with preparing academic papers for submission. There are many reasons a paper or a crossword can be rejected, so it’s important to give an editor as little as possible to find fault with.

Many barred puzzles contain quite obscure words, limiting the possibilities for disguising the definition.

 

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