On the publication of today’s 4,000th Everyman crossword, setter Alan Connor is asked about the ‘entry-level’ puzzle’s history and his five predecessors
Readers, how might one describe “the angry outburst of a common man who is stumped by a cryptic clue on his birthday”? Answer:
First published in August 1945, Everyman is one of Fleet Street’s most established and beloved crossword challenges and yet has passed down through only six skilled compilers’ hands. This Sunday the occasion is celebrated in a special anniversary layout, featuring an appropriate selection of historic Everyman clues.
“Crosswords received a frosty welcome when they first appeared,” he said. “It was felt in the serious newspapers that these puzzles were keeping workers from their toil, mothers from their charges.” Connor, who has occupied the Everyman seat for four years, only sets one regular newspaper crossword and has a day job writing scripts, books and working as the question editor on Richard Osman’s BBC TV quiz show,The line of succession that led directly down to him from Ximenes, real name Colin Macnutt, includes “kindly classics teacher Alec Robins and tax office head Dorothy Taylor”.
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