For example, Times Crossword Championship winners such as Mark Goodliffe can solve three tournament puzzles in just 22 minutes. For this reason, we believed that daily solving regimes would be relatively short and relaxed, with none of the deliberate, arduous and unenjoyable training burdens that research has suggested are needed for high expertise.Īt the same time, we knew that there was a wide ability range in tackling cryptics. For example, unlike chess, sport or music, there are very few monetary rewards or prizes on offer, and nothing by way of global prestige. Speciality of the Cornish side that’s perfect with new wingers (5,4)Ĭryptic crosswords are different from other activities previously studied to explore what it takes to become an expert. The answers and explanations are at the foot of the article if you need some help.Īctive women iron some skirts and shirts (9) Have a look at these cryptic clues from our paper and see if you can spot where you are being misled. The problem lies in recognising and cracking the code, and the task of the crossword setter, like that of a magician, is to conceal the mechanism so subtly that the way to the answer is hard to find. Solvers have to ignore this reading and look instead for a grammatical set of coded instructions to lead them to the correct answer. Unlike regular crosswords, which typically ask the solver to find a synonym for a word or phrase, cryptic crosswords use clues that are deliberately misleading. What we’ve found so far suggests that these kinds of word puzzles actually attract people with an affinity for maths and science and that the ability to think flexibly seems more important than hours of practice when it comes to solving them. We decided to test that theory in the highly challenging arena of cryptic crossword solving. Recent research suggests that other factors such as genetics influence the likelihood that you will try, enjoy and excel at a performance activity. But is that really all it takes to achieve greatness? Training and practice are clearly vitally important in many highly competitive areas such as sports, music and chess. You may have heard of the “10,000-hour rule”, the belief that it takes thousands of hours of intense practice to become an expert in something.
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