Lovely, and a nice bonus Tom Swifty to boot 🙂

Cryptic crossword No 1,375 · MyCrossword Solve Cryptic crossword No 1,375 on MyCrossword. 15x15 grid with 34 clues by Fez. Published Wed 11 Oct 2023. Features annotated solutions and special instructions. Free to solve online.

I'm a huge fan: www.mycrossword.co.uk/cryptic/1375

Cryptic crossword No 3,256 · MyCrossword Solve Cryptic crossword No 3,256 on MyCrossword. 15x15 grid with 29 clues by Abdul. Published Sun 29 Mar 2026. Features annotated solutions and special instructions. Free to solve online.

Hello! I have just published my third crossword on MyCrossword. Huge shoutout to @cranberryfez.bsky.social for the extensive help in testing and editing.

mycrossword.co.uk/cryptic/3256

Enjoy!

Business with assortment of rare rum (7)

Bled after taking recalled medicine declared unsafe (9)

Ob was in the Grauniad today. And a few days back too, I think. Though I'll refrain from further comment on those puzzles :-/

Listener Videos are back with a brilliant puzzle by @cranberryfez.bsky.social
Early AGC candidate this one.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=HVUZ...

Many thanks to Chalicea for a super blog of my recent Listener debut "Fragments", on fifteensquared:

www.fifteensquared.net/2026/03/20/l...

Cryptic crossword No 2,783 · MyCrossword Solve Cryptic crossword No 2,783 on MyCrossword. 15x15 grid with 36 clues by Fez. Published Thu 23 Oct 2025. Features annotated solutions and special instructions. Free to solve online.

A good time to revisit an old Fez?Just a reminder that I commented on this puzzle: "Sean Penn a shoo-in for Best Supporting?" 😜 #oscars @onebattlemovie.bsky.social

www.mycrossword.co.uk/cryptic/2783

Cryptic crossword No 3,218 · MyCrossword Solve Cryptic crossword No 3,218 on MyCrossword. 15x15 grid with 30 clues by Fez. Published Mon 16 Mar 2026. Features annotated solutions and special instructions. Free to solve online.

New Fez ... a centenary 🎉

Is artificial intelligence essentially replacing the book? (6)

Gold vase inlaid with second-rate copper (6)

I go with pork ribs to follow starter of cured fish (9)

At Raider's @mycrossword.co.uk - it's a blast!

www.mycrossword.co.uk/cryptic/3218

Thanks Lowdown ... your "Aliens prepare sex trial with clones (17)" is very good ... I'd just add in "with *several* clones" to show there aren't 2 or 3 of each (I don't think a clue should *rely* on enumeration for that info, generally). Now there's a good letter bank I *will* try to remember!

Featured crossword No 6 · MyCrossword Solve Featured crossword No 6 on MyCrossword. 15x15 grid with 26 clues by Baldur. Published Mon 9 Mar 2026. Free to solve online.

@mycrossword.co.uk's latest 'Featured' puzzle is from the ever-entertaining Baldur: www.mycrossword.co.uk/featured/6

And nicely blogged by Leedsclimber over at 225: www.fifteensquared.net/2026/03/09/m...

Setting Things Right: The Manifezto Pt.5 · MyCrossword Hi all, welcome back to **Setting Things Right**, aka *The Manifezto*. The usual caveat: these are just my ideas and opinions – please do add your own though...

Interested in setting cryptic crosswords, or improving ... or just finding out more? Part 5 of my blog looking at how & why cryptics work is now up at @mycrossword.co.uk:

mycrossword.co.uk/blog/setting...

Cryptic crossword No 3,173 · MyCrossword Solve Cryptic crossword No 3,173 on MyCrossword. 15x15 grid with 26 clues by Fez. Published Sat 28 Feb 2026. Features annotated solutions and special instructions. Free to solve online.

New Fez – The Guardian are calling it "pure, pure pleasure"*

He's never taken seriously (7)

Caught one enjoying an ice cream with alcohol (6)

Experimental composer of music, a genius (4)

At Raider's magical @mycrossword.co.uk: www.mycrossword.co.uk/cryptic/3173

* the theme, not the puzzle 😕

This week's Listener, #4909, is "Fragments" by Cranberry - thrilled to make my debut there 🙂 Many thanks to Roger, Shane and all the team!

Cryptic crossword No 3,173 · MyCrossword Solve Cryptic crossword No 3,173 on MyCrossword. 15x15 grid with 26 clues by Fez. Published Sat 28 Feb 2026. Features annotated solutions and special instructions. Free to solve online.

New Fez – The Guardian are calling it "pure, pure pleasure"*

He's never taken seriously (7)

Caught one enjoying an ice cream with alcohol (6)

Experimental composer of music, a genius (4)

At Raider's magical @mycrossword.co.uk: www.mycrossword.co.uk/cryptic/3173

* the theme, not the puzzle 😕

They may well say the same about "business leader" or "redhead", because even though imho those are too much of a convenient / inaccurate fudge for the setter, they can at least be *justified* ... but I can't see any way that "first lady" can be justified ... elided comma, "first, lady"? Not for me

Which is not to say that crosswords need some sort of secret code to interpret, just that you need to develop a certain way of thinking that *isn't* quite the same as everyday language

She would if she did crosswords though 😜

I don't really see much difference between "first of [T,E,C,H,...]" and "[T,E,C,H,...], primarily" - it only becomes problematic if you mistakenly try to assign some real-world meaning to those letters?

So perhaps you're not picking out individual components of an object, but individual objects from a set - and adverbs do that nicely?

I doubt they'd actually use that language, but it makes perfect sense I'd say.

There's no "select each" involved that wouldn't work. But your houses/street examples fall into trap of thinking of *actual* houses. "[H,O,U,S E,S], primarily" - with the letters as a sort of mathematical set of elements - I think does make sense, if not quite (as per Henri) an 'everyday' usage.

It parses as "the set of letters LADY, primarily" - the token resolves to the set/string of letters, which I think you can then refer to with "primarily" being the first member?

Yes indeed - many thanks, hope you enjoy!

Many thanks to Bert & Joyce for super blog of recent Cranberry IQ#1947 "Four-Letter Word"

www.fifteensquared.net/2026/02/24/i...

All hail the Gin & It A drink you need to know

That'll be Italian vermouth ... a gin & it is old-school but apparently enjoying something of a revival www.anthonygladman.com/all-hail-the...

New Cranberry today: "Four-Letter Word", #Inquisitor 1947 in @theipaper.com. Many thanks to @enigmatistelgar.bsky.social & team!

... for you to then play with: it isn't now further *divisible*, as mixing or splitting it up in any way disrupts what you've stated. I'll admit I'm still working on the most appropriate way to bring this into the 'system' but hopefully by the next blog post there'll be a decent explanation!

Homophones are tricky! But consider "rule on the radio" for RAIN. The *token* is "rule", which would normally resolve to REIGN, but we add a *qualifier* ("on the radio") to update/clarify the token as a soundalike, so it resolves to RAIN. *But* this doesn't simply provide the letters RAIN ...

I referred to "building blocks" although given you might be mixing and reducing etc perhaps just "material" would cover it? So you have fodder as 'direct material' and tokens as 'indirect material'?

Yes that'd do a similar job I think the advantage of @charliemethven.bsky.social's "token" concept is that it is pretty much 'catch-all' - a token is often a synonym but also, say, "name" for N as an abbreviation, "expressed delight" as a phrase for COR, "drummer" as a description of RINGO, etc