Proverbial truth (5)
If this clue has you stumped, you’re not alone. It also baffled a room of in-house testers of the new Mini Crossword, which launched on Wednesday(premium Herald subscribers can play it here, while premium Age subscribers can solve it here). An enthusiastic team of volunteers had gathered to test the first batch of puzzles for difficulty and tone, but the clue was a common stumbling block.
When I was offered the exciting opportunity last year to compile a daily Mini Crossword, I leapt at the chance to design a puzzle that appealed to new and established solvers. After all, I’ve always tried to position my larger weekly crosswords in that sweet spot over the past decade.
A couple of tricky clues in a small crossword can bring the whole puzzle to a screeching halt.Credit: Aresna Villanueva
Having dived into the challenge headfirst, I can report that making these five-by-five crosswords is a lot of fun. There’s something satisfying about neatly knitting together a cluster of small words, then handing it over to a puzzler to unravel – hopefully for an equally satisfying solve.
My aim is to make each bite-sized puzzle accessible, fun and contemporary. And a tad Australian – you won’t find gems like OOROO, GABBA, MYGOV and DOONA in The New York Times. Ultimately, I want these puzzles to strike the right balance: challenging, yet still within reach of a 45- to 90-second solve, giving players a mini win each day.
I usually start building a crossword by selecting an intriguing, topical or amusing “seed word” and evolving the grid around it. I generally identify seed words by browsing the news or social media, or hearing it in conversation and jotting it down. Sometimes I’ll enter a seed word in the grid only to realise it’s too disagreeable to construct with, or I find a better combination of words and the seed word gets discarded in the process.
The grid that stumped our testers, with the “proverbial truth” clue at 1 Down.Credit:
When it comes to clues, crossword compilers sometimes talk about “hard crossings” — the point where two difficult clues intersect. We try to avoid them, but don’t always get it right. A single tough answer can slow a solver down. When two tricky words cross, it can bring the whole puzzle to a screeching halt.
Which brings me to that pesky clue encountered by our mini testers a few weeks ago: proverbial truth (5). The intersecting clue was “pioneering photocopying company (5)”. The answer? XEROX, a marvellous Mini entry with its striking double x.
We setters call these types of words “scrabbly” because those rarer letters score well in Scrabble. Regular solvers also appreciate these words because they’re a welcome break from familiar entries like ARENA, ELITE and IRATE. Those words are common because they follow an alternating vowel/consonant pattern which suits the Mini grid.
I suppose that pairing XEROX with such a tricky clue was an ill-fated decision: the puzzle ended up in the too-hard basket for many testers. My subsequent research suggests the answer actually sits at 16,370 on one English word frequency list. So not exactly everyday language, given that a vocabulary of 20,000 words is considered pretty standard. No wonder it caused them to reach for the hint button.
The same tricky grid also featured the answers PROSE (clued vaguely as “text”) and UTERO (relying on knowledge of Nirvana albums). Add a slightly obscure clue for MOSEY and the result was a perfect storm of unfairness. When our testers returned slow solve times or otherwise abandoned the grid, I knew this puzzle had missed the mark.
The answer that eluded them? MAXIM, meaning a proverb or saying.
Originating from the Latin for “greatest” and scoring a respectable 16 points in Scrabble, MAXIM is one of those alluring, almost palindromic words like XEROX that compilers can’t resist, for better or worse.
I’ve learnt that the art of crafting a great Mini is not just about filling the grid with cool words, but about ensuring every crossing is fair, every clue gettable. The best puzzles challenge without alienating, offering small moments of triumph that keep players coming back for more.
So, as the Mini Crosswords roll out, I’ll be keeping a close eye on the balance – making sure they’re engaging, rewarding and rarely impossible. Just watch out, there’s always a small chance I’ll fall prey to the temptation to intersect ZHUZH with ABUZZ.
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