Good study here of how it’s difficult, as part of a tolerant society that values freedom of expression, to call out unacceptable attitudes when we see them …

Says @davegorman.bsky.social: "Boatman's puzzles are like Magic Eye posters. You stare at them for a while and then suddenly something three dimensional pops out. Don't be dizzied by it. Dance with it". All booksellers, or signed copies from boatmancryptics.co.uk/product-cate...

Have you reposted yet? You still have a few hours before someone wins a free signed book this evening …

It’s a solid start to the Retweet Competition! Don’t forget to enter - there could be a book with (literally) your name on it ...

It's the Seasonal Reposting Competition! Repost this over the weekend, and on Sunday one lucky person will win a signed copy of one of my books. For you or the #crossword addict in your life: 50 fiendish @theguardian.com #puzzles and all the stories behind them: boatmancryptics.co.uk/crossword-bo...

Non-scary fun and worthwhile present alert! (WARNING: MAY CONTAIN SLIGHT SCARINESS IN MAY)

The Seasonal Reposting Competition is coming! Return here on Friday for a chance to win a signed copy of one of my books ... For you or the #crossword addict in your life: 50 @theguardian.com #puzzles and the stories behind them: boatmancryptics.co.uk/crossword-bo...

Why are @brianbilston.bsky.social's cats so engrossed? To find out, buy my books for the #crossword addict in your life: 50 @guardian #puzzles with the stories & ideas behind them, plus extra #clues & explanations of #wordplay - all booksellers or signed copies: boatmancryptics.co.uk/crossword-bo...

In the @theguardian.com #crossword tomorrow with incorrect formations, extractor fan becoming damp! (5)

Says @mrhenrymorris.substack.com, "a Boatman crossword is like a theme park. Each daunting line is a rollercoaster ... He scares you witless. But you can't wait to do it all over again". Correct solutions and the stories behind the puzzles from booksellers or boatmancryptics.co.uk/crossword-bo...

According to Gyles Brandreth, "If you want a fiendish crossword, you want the best - which means you want Boatman, because he is the best". Two books of Guardian puzzles and the stories behind them, with bonus extras. At all booksellers, or signed copies from boatmancryptics.co.uk/crossword-bo...

@twitmericks.bsky.social Some robbers who work the day shift Broke into the Louvre with a lift. They made it back down With some bling and a crown, Which made all the French highly miffed.

Is is too soon to mention that the crossword addicts on your Christmas list may enjoy these two books? Each has 50 puzzles from @theguardian.com and the story of how they were created, with bonus extras. From wherever you buy good books, or signed copies from: boatmancryptics.co.uk/crossword-bo...

Advance warning: in the @theguardian.com #crossword on Wednesday 5 November - no fireworks, just another chapter in our domestic autobiography ...

The PNG Courier on swans and sensibility …

Tom Johnson (aka Doc, Gozo, Maskarade) has published a book, which "tells of my career as a crossword compiler from my schooldays right through to commitments nowadays". Details of how to buy posted here: www.fifteensquared.net/2025/09/21/a...

Last chance to grab a place on my November masterclass! The attendee list closes in one week - act now!

Just a couple of places left on my next online masterclass ... Release your inner fiendishness over two afternoons on Saturday 1 and 8 November and perhaps you can be like @guineverecryptic.bsky.social who did this one year ago and today sets for @thetimes.com: boatmancryptics.co.uk/crossword-ma...

Congratulations to Guinevere, who becomes the tenth of my masterclass students to find a well-earned place in The Times today ...

Unch! Happening!

If you’re in Wells, like afternoon tea and don’t know how cryptic crosswords work, this could be your chance to find out …

The PNG Courier’s enthusiasm for the quality of political discourse in the UK is flagging …

The PNG Courier on ships, shootings and surgical strikes …

The Unch bunch launch …

Back to Bridgend, where the clocks stopped in 1979 and in our “country house luxury hotel” (fact fans - we are staying at the location of one of the key scenes in the Gavin & Stacey finale) no expense has been lavished to recreate the authentic experience of a school dormitory …

Something new is brewing in crosswordland …

If you’ve looked at cryptic crosswords and wondered what on earth they all mean, and if you might be somewhere near Norwich in September, this from one of my masterclass graduates should be of interest to you …

We are about to see Derren Brown’s latest show, and our row is entirely empty. What does this portend?

Congratulations to Josh, who is my 28th masterclass graduate to take a well-earned place in @the-independent.com ...

The PNG Courier proves itself equally adept at horror as at humour. Slaughter was always just one letter away from laughter …

If you're in Sussex on 19 Sept, come and see the wonderful Full Circle Quartet in the intimate setting of the Old Meeting House, Ditchling, with Josephine Davies (Jazz Instrumentalist of the Year 2019), BAFTA-winning pianist-composer Joss Peach, legendary bassist Terry Pack and drummer Angus Bishop

For those of us who have a professional interest in analysing cryptic crossword clues, this is a proposal to give a name to a concept that we’re all familiar with. Good idea?

Mrs B is currently living with a broken ankle, and I am now keen to reintroduce the Middle English spelling of "ancle", as this would allow me to clue ANCLE as "clean break" and CLEAN as "broken ancle".

With Soup in The Guardian, Bluth in The Indy and Weatherman in the Telegraph Toughie, it's a good day for my masterclass graduates and a good excuse to remind you that you can join my next online class for aspiring setters and keen solvers on 1 & 8 November: boatmancryptics.co.uk/crossword-ma...

ITMA. www.thetimes.com/puzzles/mind...

It’s an English 1-2-3, with Goodliffe taking first place after an exciting final round!

The good clues keep coming …

Some very nice clues here, as well …

They’re answering clues in turn - some remarkably quickly - and passing to the next contestant if they’re stuck. Surprisingly, this really works as a spectator sport …

Mark Goodliffe off to a strong start …

Happening at the World Crossword Championship right now …

Looking forward to seeing how this plays out … Can the world’s finest solvers succeed against our own Mark Goodliffe?

The best summary so far, by @mattgreencomedy.com and @mattgreencomedy.com. www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQVf...

French antiques fraudster has amount to pay, along with accomplice, over item in auction (4,6)

Two buddies shared love man to man, As much as two straight fellows can, But Musk's in a K-Hole And Trump is an a-hole So now the shit's hitting the fan.

In the @theguardian.com #crossword tomorrow, with an architect of small boxes - one may be found in the north end of settlement (5)

Looking forward to meeting @somsram.bsky.social properly for the first time on the 29th next month …

Two books for your holiday reading: solve the puzzles, then read the stories behind them. Each book contains 50 #crosswords from @theguardian.com, with bonus extras. Discover the ideas behind them, the coincidences and the quantum mechanics. All booksellers or: boatmancryptics.co.uk/crossword-bo...

A good roundup here of some of the most contentious issues in setting cryptic crosswords - you should read this if you're thinking of submitting your work for public scrutiny for the first time ... Of course, you should come to one of my masterclasses too, but it won't hurt you to read this first!

Oh, this is very good. I look forward to (a) tipsy linguists knowingly referring to being “stockhammered” and (b) @alanconnor.bsky.social’s next opus “546 Words for Drunk” …