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It pays to have connected friends. Regular visitors to the BEQ.com know that I'm on a steady diet of solving variety cryptics, and not much else. These regulars also know that I pretty much worship at the altar of Emily Cox and Henry Rathvon (hey, who else regularly drops enough variety cryptics to sate my appetite?). So, when I recently sent Emily a rather gooey mash note raving about their work and expressing dire concern that I don't know what I'll do when I've depleted my stack of their stuff, she offered to replenish said stack. (Let the record show that this pile is crazy big, but I have no doubt that I will eventually run out of them. But I like to plan ahead for the inevitable Nocrypticocalypse.) Emily's sent me some books, and one of them was a copy of an out-of-print anthology of their cryptics going all the way back to the late '70s! I mean, to think they've been doing this for 35 years is an accomplishment. And to think that there's still new material to draw from is nothing short of awe-inspiring.
It's been a trip to pore over idol's work especially from their primordial stages. It's not unlike getting your hands on the special edition rerelease of a favorite record with hours of unheard demos, live shows, practice space recordings, you name it. It's like stepping into a time machine to see how we got to where we are today. One thing that's apparent with these old puzzles is that Hen' & Em's sense of humor (and build-up to the big punch line) was there from the get go. Another thing that's apparent is that they've learned to ease back on the anagram clues. At times these felt more like a Puns and Anagrams than a straight up cryptic. But like all great riddles (and let's face it, cryptic clues are just riddles), there's a certain timelessness to them. Two examples from the latest one I just solved made me laugh out loud: {I'm old and I'm in the way} (7) and {Pacify star in Taming of the Shrew with speech} (7). It's been a fun trip.
Note to self: I should do a post wherein I look back at some of the primordial BEQ puzzles and marvel at how far I've come.
Share the puzzle. New one on Monday.
Brendan Emmett Quigley creates custom-made puzzles for all occasions: birthdays and bar mitzvahs, anniversaries and retirements. You name it. Need a puzzle for your website or your publication? He can do that, too.
Brendan's custom work clients have included The American Crossword Puzzle Tournament, BeerAdvocate, Boston Magazine, De Beers, The Decemberists, ESPN, The Improper Bostonian, Lollapuzzoola, McSweeney's, Phish, Reflexive, The Smithsonian Magazine, St. Martin's Press, Uncle John's Bathroom Reader, and Andrew Weil.
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