Setters
Introduction
This page is intended to give you a brief introduction to the setters. It doesn’t include biographical detail – this is available in the A to Z of Crosswords book by Jonathan Crowther. Style rating is “Ximenean” or “Libertarian”. “Ximenean” means: follows the principles laid down by Afrit and Ximenes 40-50 years ago on fairness in cryptic clues (but doesn’t preclude cryptic definitions or nounal anagram indicators). “Libertarian” means: may intend to follow the same overall principles but breaks at least some of the “rules” some of the time. Such a black/white classification is crude, so don’t take it too seriously.
Please let me know if you think I’ve made any mistakes, especially if you’re the setter concerned. Peter Biddlecombe (peter {at} biddlecombe {dot} demon {dot} co {dot} uk )
Independent
For Independent puzzles, the broad difficulty ratings are based on my subjective assessments and solving time records kept by Niall MacSweeney. Your mileage may differ, especially for individual puzzles. In each of the groups of setters, the setters are listed in what we think is ascending order of difficulty.
Weekly or other frequent slots
| Pseudonym | Style | Difficulty | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dac | Ximenean | Easy | Weekly, usually Wednesday. Also on Times team. Listener (Smokey) in the past. |
| Phi | Ximenean | Easy | Weekly, usually Friday. Beelzebub 3 weeks out of 4. Formerly on Times team. Listener and Inquisitor (Phi) |
| Virgilius | Ximenean | Easy | Fortnightly, usually Tues. Also Brendan in the Guardian, and on Times and Telegraph teams. Listener (Virgilius) in the past. Former Times and Independent xwd editor. |
| Quixote | Ximenean | Medium | Weekly – Independent on Sunday. Also Pasquale (Guardian), Bradman (FT), on Times and Telegraph teams. Listener (Duck) |
| Nimrod | Libertarian | Medium/Hard | 2 weeks out of three. FT (Io) |
Monthly
| Pseudonym | Style | Difficulty | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Math | Ximenean | Easy | |
| Merlin | Ximenean | Medium | Listener (Merlin) |
| Tees | Libertarian | Medium | FT (Neo) |
| Morph | Ximenean | Medium | One of us! (michod) |
| Punk | Libertarian | Hard | Guardian (Paul), on Times team, FT (Mudd) |
| Nestor | Ximenean | Hard | On Times team. Listener (Kea) |
| Bannsider | Ximenean | Hard | On Times team. Listener (Aragon) |
| Scorpion | Libertarian | Hard | FT (Aardvark) |
| Eimi | Ximenean | Medium | Independent crossword editor |
| Monk | Ximenean | Hard | Twice a month. Also FT (Monk), on Times team. Listener (Monk) |
| Radian | Ximenean | Medium | Daily Mail |
Occasional
| Pseudonym | Style | Difficulty | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Glow-Worm | Ximenean | Easy | Listener (Glow-worm) |
| Hypnos | Ximenean | Easy | FT (Sleuth) |
| Mass | Libertarian | Medium | Listener (Mass). |
| Mordred | Ximenean | Medium | Listener (Mordred) |
Guardian
I’ve used a different method for Guardian puzzles. Setters are listed in alphabetical order, with the “frequency” column indicating the number of (blogged) puzzles in the first six months or so of this blog. Difficulty ratings are just my own assessment – I’m happy to be corrected by more regular Guardian solvers. Where I can’t remember a setter’s style or find any other evidence, I’ve left it blank.
| Pseudonym | Frequency | Style | Difficulty | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arachne | 3 | Medium | ||
| Araucaria | 29 | Libertarian | Medium/Hard | FT (Cinephile) |
| Audreus | 3 | Easy | FT (Mutt) | |
| Auster | 1 | Easy | ||
| Brendan | 7 | Ximenean | Easy | Virgilius, Independent – q.v. |
| Brummie | 5 | Easy | Cyclops in Private Eye | |
| Chifonie | 6 | Hard | FT (Armonie) | |
| Enigmatist | 3 | Libertarian | Medium/Hard | Nimrod, Independent – q.v. |
| Gordius | 11 | Medium | ||
| Janus | 1 | Easy | ||
| Logodaedalus | 4 | Easy | ||
| Orlando | 6 | Ximenean | Medium | FT (Cincinnus), Times |
| Pasquale | 4 | Ximenean | Medium | Quixote, Independent – q.v. |
| Paul | 21 | Libertarian | Hard | Punk, Independent – q.v. |
| Puck | 3 | Medium | ||
| Rover | 4 | Hard | ||
| Rufus | 19 | Ximenean | Easy | FT (Dante), Daily Telegraph. Formerly on Times and Independent teams |
| Shed | 6 | Libertarian | Medium | FT (Dogberry) |
| Taupi | 5 | Libertarian | Medium/Hard | FT (Satori) |
Financial Times
The difficulty ratings are from FT xwd ed Colin Inman – thanks Colin. Colin only gave style ratings for some setters. I’ve put in a few more myself, but regular FT solvers are welcome to e-mail me (details at the top of this post) if you disagree or can fill any gaps.
Two a month or more
| Pseudonym | Style | Difficulty | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cinephile | Libertarian | Medium/Hard | Guardian (Araucaria) |
| Cincinnus | Ximenean | Medium | Guardian (Orlando), Times |
| Mudd | Libertarian | Medium | Guardian (Paul), Indie (Punk), Times |
| Dante | Ximenean | Easy | Guardian (Rufus), Daily Telegraph |
| Falcon | Ximenean | Medium | Daily Telegraph, Observer, Times, Spectator (Ascot) |
One or two a month
| Pseudonym | Style | Difficulty | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adamant | Ximenean | Medium | |
| Armonie | Ximenean | Easy | Guardian (Chifonie) |
| Bradman | Ximenean | Medium | Guardian (Pasquale), Times, Indie (Quixote), Listener (Duck) |
| Crux | Ximenean | Easy | |
| Io | Libertarian | Hard | Guardian (Enigmatist), Independent (Nimrod) |
| Monk | Ximenean | Hard | Independent (Monk),Times, Listener |
| Dogberry | Ximenean | Hard | Guardian (Shed) |
| Flimsy | Libertarian | Medium | |
| Mutt | Ximenean | Easy | Guardian (Audreus) |
| Gozo | Easy | Spectator (Doc) | |
| Satori | Libertarian | Hard | Guardian (Taupi) |
| Moodim | Medium | ||
| Aardvark | Libertarian | Hard | Independent (Scorpion) |
| Neo | Libertarian | Medium | Independent (Tees) |
| Jason | Ximenean | Medium | Listener (Auctor) |
| Sleuth | Ximenean | Medium | Independent (Hypnos) |
| Orense | Ximenean | Medium | Daily Telegraph |
| Highlander | Ximenean | Easy | |
| Viking | Ximenean | Medium/Hard | Listener (Viking) |
Last edit: 5 Sept 2008 – Quantum & Quark (both the late Eric Burge) removed from lists.
Last edit: 22 Oct 2008 – changes to the Independent setters. Thanks to Eimi for providing these.