Coincidences?
Sir: Oh dear, all the old right-wing in- tolerance (Notebook, 10 July). The Guar- dian crossword is one of the areas of the paper noticeably free from political com- mitment — that and the Country Diary, and I don't think your colleague should give it up so abruptly just because Alder- maston appeared as a solution twice in one week.
But what is interesting is how Alder- maston came up twice. It is not a common crossword word and I'm pretty sure it hadn't appeared in the Guardian for a long time — certainly a matter of years. It must be coincidence, I suppose, though this sort of thing has happened before. Even odder, however, is when the same solution appears in different papers on the same day. A reader in Bushey points out that on 22 February the Guardian crossword had for 14 down: Abandoned. Clue: A group badly done by left (9). Also on 22 February the Daily Telegraph had 3 down: Abandoned. Clue: Left one gang done in (9). Then on 17 May the Guardian had 8 down: Feather duster. Clue: Hatter refused to supply cleaning equipment (7,6). The Daily Telegraph for 17 May had 6 down: Feather duster. Clue: Mad hatter refused lightest of brushes (7,6). This is beginning to get uncanny.
John Perkin Crossword Editor, The Guardian, 164 Deansgate, Manchester
Previous page
