Azed

The Azed crossword appears every Sunday in The Observer newspaper. Since it first appeared in March 1972, every puzzle has been composed by Jonathan Crowther who also judges the monthly clue-writing competition. The pseudonym Azed is a reversal of (Fray Diego de) Deza, a Spanish inquisitor general. This combines the inquisitorial tradition of Torquemada and Ximenes (the two previous composers of the "advanced" Observer crossword) with the wordplay element of a British cryptic crossword.

It challenges its followers with a much higher proportion of obscure and archaic words and allusions to the Classics than would normally be considered acceptable in a modern blocked puzzle, thus providing an extra aspect of difficulty for the seasoned cryptic solver.

The 2000th Azed puzzle was published on 26 September 2010. The 500th competition puzzle was published on 1 August 2010.

The puzzle's barred grid signals a more extensive vocabulary than that of the usual cryptic crossword. Up to half of the answers may be "dictionary words" and its standard reference, The Chambers Dictionary, is an essential aid for most solvers. However, a much lower percentage of unchecked letters – those that appear in only one answer – helps to alleviate this, as does the rigour with which the clues are constructed. Azed is a strict Ximenean, a stickler for grammatical and syntactical soundness in clues. This precision assists both the discovery of the right answer and the solver's confidence that it is correct. Dialect and obsolete words are signalled in the clues and if a particularly obscure answer is not in Chambers, the fact is noted below the clues. As is common with barred puzzles, when the solution is published it is accompanied by short notes to explain how the more difficult answers were derived from their clues.

At approximately six-weekly intervals, the crossword is a "special". In these there are special rules for solving the clues or entering the answers into the diagram. Popular and recurring specials are "Spoonerisms", "Eightsome Reels","Cherchez La Femme", (all invented by Azed), "Misprints" (devised by Ximenes), Playfair and Printer's Devilry (both created by Afrit). Many are composed to mark particular events and often use devices from other standard specials, particularly "Letters Latent".

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