6 days ago
Leonard Dawe bows out with verse in Telegraph's 10,000th cryptic crossword
The Telegraph Crossword has a reputation for classical restraint, generally avoiding the more experimental elements that you might find in some other series. For Puzzle number 10,000, however, such restraint was abandoned — and the clues written in rhyming verse.
This historical oddity, penned by Leonard Dawe, says a lot about how he viewed compiling. He hopes to make the solver smile and forget their woes, be that illness or simply bad weather. He also reflects on receiving his fair share of flak from exasperated readers!
This is the final puzzle in this series by Leonard Dawe, the man who started it all back in 1925.
Here's how Val Gilbert, Telegraph Crossword Editor from 1977 until 2006, describes him: 'In modern terms, his Cryptic Crosswords were not of the highest quality […] However, he is a colossus in the world of British crosswords, the trailblazer who went on to shape the crossword in all its facets – the clues, the patterns and the solutions – into the puzzle that we know today.'
Ultimately, the goal of the compiler remains 'to intrigue, but fairly.' So what's your take on Dawe's legacy? Are you a fan of these rhyming couplets?
Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
