Jonathan Crowther (1760–1824)
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Jonathan Crowther is a British crossword compiler who has for over 50 years composed the
Azed Azed is a crossword which 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.Jonathan Crowther (200 ...
cryptic crossword A cryptic crossword is a crossword, crossword puzzle in which each clue is a word puzzle. Cryptic crosswords are particularly popular in the United Kingdom, where they originated, as well as Ireland, the Netherlands, and in several Commonwealth ...
in ''
The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper. In 1993 it was acquired by Guardian Media Group Limited, and operated as a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' ...
'' Sunday newspaper. He was voted "best British crossword setter" in a poll of crossword setters conducted by ''
The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British Sunday newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of N ...
'' in 1991 and in the same year was chosen as "the crossword compilers' crossword compiler" in ''The Observer Magazine'' "Experts' Expert" feature.Jonathan Crowther (2006) ''A-Z of Crosswords'' pp. 44–46, Collins ,


Career

He was born in Liverpool on 24 September 1942, the son of a doctor, and grew up in Kirkby Lonsdale in the
Lake District The Lake District, also known as ''the Lakes'' or ''Lakeland'', is a mountainous region and National parks of the United Kingdom, national park in Cumbria, North West England. It is famous for its landscape, including its lakes, coast, and mou ...
. He was educated at
Rugby School Rugby School is a Public school (United Kingdom), private boarding school for pupils aged 13–18, located in the town of Rugby, Warwickshire in England. Founded in 1567 as a free grammar school for local boys, it is one of the oldest independ ...
before going on to read classics and classical philology at
Corpus Christi College, Cambridge Corpus Christi College (full name: "The College of Corpus Christi and the Blessed Virgin Mary", often shortened to "Corpus") is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. From the late 14th c ...
. From there, in 1964, he joined
Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...
and he worked for them in
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
, London, and
Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...
, until his retirement in early 2000. His final position was as a lexicographer writing dictionaries for foreign students of English. Married with two sons, he lives in Oxford. Encouraged by his father, Jonathan enjoyed solving crosswords from an early age. He began to regularly solve Ximenes' puzzles while still at Rugby, and "just lived for Sundays" thereafter.Jonathan Crowther in ''Timeshift: "How to solve a cryptic crossword"'', BBC4 Nov 2008 His first puzzles to be published were in the university weekly newspaper, ''Varsity'', under the pseudonym Gong and after leaving university he started submitting to '' The Listener''. They published sixteen Gong puzzles between June 1965 and February 1972. He continued to be a Ximenes competitor until Ximenes' death in 1971. When appointed as Ximenes' successor, he decided to adopt a new pseudonym. His two predecessors had taken theirs from Spanish inquisitors-general but none of the remaining names seemed suitably impressive. However, reversing the last name of one, Diego de Deza, gave Azed, which ( to British ears at least) resembles the first and last letters of the alphabet. This kind of letter manipulation and word reversal are integral parts of a cryptic crossword. Azed No. 1 appeared in ''The Observer'' in March 1972, with Azed following his predecessor Ximenes in holding monthly clue-writing competitions. These still continue and in the monthly "slip", he gives details of each competition and discusses points of technique and more general interest relating to his puzzles. He relishes the dialogue the competitions generate and many regular solvers have become his friends. Glimpses into his private life can be found among the technical comments – for example, he is very interested in cricket and less so in football, he took part in a performance of Haydn's '' Nelson Mass'' at
Radley College Radley College, formally St Peter's College, Radley or the College of St. Peter at Radley, is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (independent boarding school) for boys near the village of Radley, in Oxfordshire, in the United Kingd ...
, and one of his sons is a rock musician.


Tastes and technique

Proudly Ximenean in his crossword philosophy, he favours puzzles whose setters have similar ideas (Dimitry,
Duck Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family (biology), family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and goose, geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfam ...
and Phi, for example). Though he may not always approve of some accompanying clues, he praises the ingenuity of construction of the specialised thematic crosswords in the ''Times Listener'' series, the ''Crossword Club'' magazine, and ''1 Across''. He himself is responsible for a number of the "special" formats which have appeared regularly in the Azed series. These include ''Cherchez la Femme'', ''Eightsome Reels'', ''Give and Take'', ''Overlaps'', and ''Spoonerisms''. Ideas for such specials may strike him anywhere but
Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after th ...
-side walks with his dog have been specially productive. His methods of crossword composition are traditional. Many setters use computer programs to fill in one of the standardised grids imposed on them by their newspapers but Azed does not. ''The Observer'' has always allowed him freedom in construction and he strives to make interesting and varied diagrams. The grid comes first, drawn in pencil in an exercise book with squared paper. Then the bars at the end of each word are inked in for clarity. Then he chooses his words. ''
The Chambers Dictionary ''The Chambers Dictionary'' was first published by William and Robert Chambers as ''Chambers's English Dictionary'' in 1872. It was an expanded version of ''Chambers's Etymological Dictionary'' of 1867, compiled by James Donald. A second editio ...
'' is consulted, together with ''Chambers WORDS'' and ''Chambers BACKWORDS'' to find combinations that will fit into the grid. Finally, the clues are composed in the order that the words appear in the grid, starting with the first Across clue. He deliberately avoids tackling the most interesting-looking words first. He feels that to do that leaves a morass of drab-looking words at the end, quite likely receiving lifeless clues to match. When cluing, ''Chambers Thesaurus'' is a standard aid, assisted by a wide variety of reference books (many now out of print) which he has accumulated over the years. Composing a plain crossword takes him four to five hours, spread across a week. His specials can take considerably longer.Various Azed slips naming reference books He also sets occasional puzzles under the pseudonym
Ozymandias "Ozymandias" ( ) is a sonnet written by the English Romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley. It was first published in the 11 January 1818 issue of '' The Examiner'' of London. The poem was included the following year in Shelley's collection '' Ros ...
– "Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!". He believes that "the whole business about the setting and solving of crosswords is that it is a battle of minds – a tussle of wits between the setter and the solver. The solver should win but not without a bit of a struggle"


Bibliography

''Azed Book of Crosswords'', Latimer (1975), SBN 901 539 39 2, reissued as ''The World's Most Difficult Crosswords'' by Pantheon (1976 ) ''Elementary Crosswords for Learners of English as a Foreign Language'', OUP Japan (1980), ''Intermediate Crosswords for Learners of English as a Foreign Language'', OUP Japan (1980), , ''Advanced Crosswords for Learners of English as a Foreign Language'', OUP Japan (1981), , ''Introductory crosswords for Learners of English as a Foreign Language'', Oxford University Press (1983), ASIN: B0007B5BTM ''Lost for Words'', as Ozymandias, with cartoons by Jon, Angus and Robertson (1988), ''Best of Azed Crosswords'', Chambers (1989), , ''Observer Azed Crosswords'', Chambers (1991), , ''Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary of Current English'', Co-editor, various editions (OUP Oxford) ''Making the most of dictionaries in the classroom: A guide for teachers of English'' (Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary, Oxford Wordpower Dictionary) (ELT) co-authored with Sally Wehmeier, Oxford University Press (1994), , ''Indian and British English'': A Handbook of Usage and Pronunciation, Co-author, Oxford University Press; 2nd Ed edition (2004), , ''Chambers Book of Azed Crosswords'', Chambers Harrap (2005) , ''The Best Of Azed'', Guardian Books (2005), , ''Oxford Guide to British and American Culture'', OUP Oxford; Rev Ed edition (2005), , ''The Art of the Crossword Setter'' – essay in ''Chambers Crossword Dictionary'' (2nd edition, Chambers 2006), ''Chambers Concise Crossword Dictionary'' (2nd edition, Chambers 2005), and ''Chambers Crossword Companion'' (Chambers 2007) ''A to Z of Crosswords'', Collins (2006) ,


References


External links


&Lit – The Azed Slip Archive

Guardian crosswords
{{DEFAULTSORT:Crowther, Jonathan Crossword creators People from Kirkby Lonsdale Writers from Liverpool Living people 20th-century English male writers Year of birth missing (living people) People educated at Rugby School