Books about Cryptic from Amazon.com

Tired of the same old crossword clues? Want to put some spice into your solving? Then try this follow-up to the popular 101 Cryptic Crosswords, from former puzzle editor of The New Yorker Fraser Simpson Unlike conventional crosswords, these quirky puzzles use clues that combine straightforward definitions with clever wordplay. For example, “Hit friends back” is the clue for SLAP, which means “hit” but is also PALS reversed (“friends back”). You’ll also encounter homophones, hidden words, charades, deletions, pig Latin, and more. These mind-twisting puzzles are sure to give you hours of head-scratching, pencil-chewing fun.

From Mensa® comes a series of super-challenging puzzles that go way beyond the average crossword—and also offer an authentic treasure-trove of wordplay demanding some skilled solving. Here’s how they go: each clue has two parts. One is the normal definition of an answer, while the other features a little linguistic playfulness—maybe an anagram, perhaps a pun, and sometimes even a word written backward. And the hitch is…there’s usually no indication of which comes first, or punctuation to mark the division. You’ve got to see through the clue-maker’s deceptions and tease out the correct answer by rethinking the clue’s wording. Some of the irresistible language trickery includes double definitions, hidden answers, homophones, and containers.

Compiled by the editor of The Times crossword, this assortment of crossword puzzles promises endless entertainment Initially published just four times a year on holidays, The Times crossword has appeared on a weekly basis since 1997. The larger grid (27 x 27 squares) creates great challenges for long words and phrases, adding an additional level of diffficulty to the original 15 x 15 layout and a new element of challenge to completing each crossword.

Ready for something that really tests your brainpower? These puzzles--taken from the celebrated pages of The New Yorker magazine--offer more challenges per "empty square" than the average crossword! Every cryptic has a twist, a little something extra, a double-dose of difficulty. That's because the clues all have two parts: a definition half and a wordplay half, with anagrams, reversals, containers, and lots of other word games built in.

*50 puzzles *Covered spiral binding for easy identification in spined-out shelving *Edited by Will Shortz.Never seen before in book form, this collection brings together the best of the Second Sunday puzzles of The New York Times. From spiral crosswords to fantastic word games, these puzzles will delight and challege all types of puzzling fans.