Advice Needed

[worworcrossol]

What is the best Barred crossword to start out learning to solve? Thank you in advance

[Captain2]

Hi worworcrossol, sorry to sound ignorant, but what do you mean by 'barred crossword' please?

[Mamyalynne]

Like this Cap'n

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/JUj-3Z4enXdCGk_l0lfhdB4G-1DItP4ej_qcT-hzZcamjbKSx5_ZFTNnBc0LWLVDMQ=w412-h220-rw

[Mamyalynne]

A bit more about them here.

https://www.puzzler.com/puzzles-a-z/continuity#:~:text=The%20continuity%2C%20or%20barred%20crossword,lines%2C%20rather%20than%20black%20squares.

[Captain2]

Thanks for trying Mamya, but my machine doesn't want to open your link. :(((

[Calibax]

I aassume you mean the thematic crosswords like The Listener? Of the ones I've looked at, I think probably The Inquisitor in Saturday's I newspaper is perhaps the easiest. I beiieve they have a policy of cycling easier puzzles among the more difficult, so if you persist for a few weeks, you might find one to your liking. It's all a matter of personal taste though.

[Captain2]

Ah, your second link explains all, thank you.

[Mamyalynne]

Perhaps try the Azed in the Guardian.

https://www.theguardian.com/crosswords

[TheFrogman]

I would agree with Mamya regarding Azed. One particular advantage of Azed over most barred puzzles is that it is always set by the same person, so you can relatively quickly get used to the setter's style. Also the puzzles are largely 'plain' (unthemed), which makes for an easier transition from blocked puzzles, while the clues are well-written, fair and witty

There is no fundamental difference between barred and blocked puzzles, although you are likely to encounter a higher proportion of obscure solutions in barred puzzles. To balance out the increased difficulty that this creates, less unchecked letters are allowed in the entries and the wordplays in the clues are required to be grammatically sound.

Having Chambers dictionary (either paper or electronic) to hand will make life a great deal easier when it comes to the obscurities. Setters are normally expected to indicate obsolete, dialect, regional etc words (by the use of qualifiers such as 'old', 'local, 'in Glasgow') - Azed always does this, but it's not a hard and fast rule for all barred puzzles.

There is a large archive of Azed puzzles on the Guardian web site (https://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/series/azed) and a blog for each puzzle is published on the fifteensquared site (http://www.fifteensquared.net/category/azed/), explaining the solutions and facilitating further discussion.

Good luck!

[EdmundD]

Also Mephisto in The Sunday Times