John

Wordle 1,558 3/6* ⬛⬛⬛🟩⬛ ⬛⬛⬛🟩🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 https://www.nytimes.com/games/wordle/index.html Minute Cryptic - 24 September, 2025 "12 - 55 + n = 9 - 12" (5) 🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣 🏆 0 hints – 4 under the community par (32,045 solvers so far). https://www.minutecryptic.com/

Wordle 1,557 4/6* ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ 🟨🟨⬛⬛⬛ ⬛🟩🟩⬛🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 https://www.nytimes.com/games/wordle/index.html Minute Cryptic - 23 September, 2025 "Announced you are divorcing mature spouse" (4) 🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣 🏆 0 hints – 1 under the community par (25,773 solvers so far). https://www.minutecryptic.com/ https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=XtMaxx0Q8-4

Wordle 1,556 5/6* ⬛⬛🟩⬛⬛ ⬛🟨🟩⬛⬛ ⬛⬛🟩🟩⬛ ⬛🟩🟩🟩⬛ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 https://www.nytimes.com/games/wordle/index.html Minute Cryptic - 22 September, 2025 "Campers on alert... bears close to home" (8) 🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣 🏆 0 hints – 2 under the community par (27,098 solvers so far). https://www.minutecryptic.com/ https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=11ij2OP1MgY

Wordle 1,555 5/6* ⬛⬛🟨⬛🟩 ⬛⬛⬛🟩🟩 ⬛🟩⬛🟩🟩 ⬛🟩⬛🟩🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 https://www.nytimes.com/games/wordle/index.html Minute Cryptic - 21 September, 2025 "US coin forsaken by New York stockholder?" (3) 🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣 I scored: 2 under par https://www.minutecryptic.com/ https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=WAFkj4pRb6s

Wordle 1,554 3/6* 🟨⬛🟨⬛🟨 🟨🟩🟩⬛⬛ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 https://www.nytimes.com/games/wordle/index.html Minute Cryptic - 20 September, 2025 (np.‡) "Religious space cosmonaut struggling with lack of oxygen" (7) 🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣 I scored: 3 under par https://www.minutecryptic.com/ https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=REcTpPB1IsY ‡ It's not that I've run out of words, or that I am more ill than normal, or anything else negative, or positive — I'm having a hiatus from writing this.

Wordle 1,553 3/6* ⬛⬛⬛🟨🟨 ⬛🟩⬛🟩🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 https://www.nytimes.com/games/wordle/index.html Minute Cryptic - 19 September, 2025 (Np.) "David selflessly took off armour, pulled back slingshot, eviscerated giant" (4) 🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣 I scored: 2 under par https://www.minutecryptic.com/ https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYrPMOsxbq0

Wordle 1,552 2/6* 🟨⬛🟩🟨⬛ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 https://www.nytimes.com/games/wordle/index.html Minute Cryptic - 18 September, 2025 (I nearly finished their book, I'm 1/3td of the way through the bigger crossword at the end. I could have finished the book much faster but I tend to go slower, rather than faster, with books I enjoy. It's one of those books a person buys for someone else in the hope that they'll enjoy it too. Whether it ends up like good, but apparently overly red, boots bought for a niece, as decided by her friends "little red riding hood" comments, it's ultimately up to the receiver whether or not the gift is useful. Especially when it is work reading it, or a distraction. If everyone liked the same stuff it'd be a dull world, and, in the case of anyone a generation apart you're definitely better asking them what they want rather than making any assumptions. Although I have recently acquired some Vans, which are slightly too small for me, because a nephew didn't like them and kept them at the bottom of a pile of stuff, then left for university, and definitely hates them, so every cloud has a silver lining and possibly blisters until they stretch. I watched bits of President Trump's state visit to Windsor Castle yesterday and it was quite amazing but I did feel for them having to sit through the bit where the, exceptionally skillful and well rehearsed, military bands played music and marched around a field. I think I would have ordered a drone strike on an empty field somewhere so I could duck out for a bit and avoid insult - because it's not them it's the music. People like different things, that's normal, but over an hour of that and I'd go as far as invading Barbados to get out of listening to it. Maybe that's the idea. War music.) "Buzzer-beater was thrown with second on stopwatch" (4) 🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣 I scored: 2 under par https://www.minutecryptic.com/ https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=9YoABZowNCk

Wordle 1,551 4/6* ⬛🟨⬛⬛🟨 🟨🟩⬛⬛⬛ ⬛🟩⬛⬛🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 https://www.nytimes.com/games/wordle/index.html Minute Cryptic - 17 September, 2025 (I'm up to page 295 which works out something like 19 pages , or about another 8 puzzles further fotward, in the Lucky Dip 2 section of their book. The Minute Cryptic book is good value because after the tutorials there are enough MC style clues to put theory into practice at one's own speed. If the Minute Cryptic book is especially popular I can see others using a Buzz Books style approach. Buzz Books were a publisher of small hardback books for children. In the mid 1980s thought to early 1990 there were small hardback books of Thomas The Tank Engine published by Ladybird Books, each book contained two or more stories from Series 1, and subsequently Series 2. After which point Ladybird did (and do) publish Thomas The Tank Engine books, but single, bigger, more lucrative, original, books. From 1991 through to 1996 Buzz Books used the materials from the Ladybird books but had a single episode per book. So they could turn 1 book into 2 at roughly the same cover price. I know this because a, adult, nephew is somewhat obsessed by them. There must be a ton of cryptic crossword material from British broadsheet newspapers and if the single clue format is popular a lot of that material could be reused. If there are 70-ish clues per crossword that's seventy pages per crossword plus hint pages. Which sounds like it'd be easy and lucrative but it would be a great deal of work because of the hint pages - Minute Cryptic have clearly thought a great deal about the format and progression of their hints. So it wouldn't be entirely Buzz Books-like to produce a knock-off MC style book using existing newspaper crosswords. Although a clue referencing when Dionysus tried having sex with phytoplankton while high would be more accessible to people without a classical education and those who don't listen to BBC Radio 4.) "Every prime cut from homebred cattle?" (4) 🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣 I scored: 2 under par https://www.minutecryptic.com/ https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=oT24JjVP2pc

Couldn't be much simpler: https://nostr.com/

Wordle 1,550 3/6* 🟨⬛⬛⬛🟨 🟨⬛⬛🟨🟨 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 https://www.nytimes.com/games/wordle/index.html Minute Cryptic - 16 September, 2025 (I'm on page 275 of Minute Cryptic's book, in the 'Lucky Dip 2' bit, because I've slowed down, doing a few before bed, and I'm enjoying the puzzles at the end. I suspect, along with a couple of crossword dictionaries I acquired, that the method that the MC book uses for teaching is very effective, or at least very effective for me, when applied to larger crosswords. The granular nature of learning individual clue patterns when applied to a larger form of a full crossword works as well as learning the rudiments of any gestalt form composed of those rudiments. There is a symmetry in how kids learn where initially everything is blurred and nebulous, like a baby's gibber, and it comes into focus as it is further refined by experience and feedback. There are parallels with neural networks and LLMs in that regard. I wonder if we should be more tolerant of getting stuff wrong on the path to getting stuff right, where permissable, because gibbering along to a song in a foreign language, as an adult, maybe having a similar effect to a baby gibbering along. That's part of the greatness of certain programming language compilers, such as Rust's, because they give good feedback once understood. I think autocorrect, LLMs and plugins don't inhibit learning but I suspect they may slow it down, under certain circumstances, because there is a whole chunk of 'doing' taken out of the process. But maybe a lot of it was pointless 'doing" to begin with, at least sometimes, it depends on context.) "Listen out for Mum" (6) 🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣 I scored: 2 under par https://www.minutecryptic.com/ https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=I9pKVATd5pA

Wordle 1,549 4/6* ⬛🟨⬛🟨⬛ 🟩🟨🟨⬛⬛ 🟩⬛⬛🟩🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 https://www.nytimes.com/games/wordle/index.html Minute Cryptic - 15 September, 2025 (I am not keen on this clue, but maybe that's sour grapes rather than a legitimate gripe. I don't think it's a fair clue but other people got it so I'm probably wrong.) "Tingers tolded!?" (4) 🟡🟡🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣 https://www.minutecryptic.com https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=XUsOTMird9g

Wordle 1,548 3/6* ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ ⬛🟩🟨⬛🟨 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 https://www.nytimes.com/games/wordle/index.html Minute Cryptic - 14 September, 2025 (I didn't get this one on the way the video explains it and it would have been nicer if I had. I can't explain it without giving it away so I won't. I have a bad sinus headache, have intermittently slept because it hurts, and I have a busy day ahead. Also, I'm quite peckish, and I'm self cancelling until after breakfast.) "Raise centre of net in badminton?" (7) 🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣 I scored: 3 under par https://www.minutecryptic.com/ https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=qICoqOiUtFI

Wordle 1,547 3/6* 🟨🟨🟨🟨⬛ 🟨🟨🟨🟨⬛ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 https://www.nytimes.com/games/wordle/index.html Minute Cryptic - 13 September, 2025 (great surface in this clue and probably because of the smell, if handwash only, and they haven't gotten around to washing them. Leather lingerie would be handwash only and at lower temperatures because a person doesn't wsnt them to shrink. At the lower end of the male market it likely ends up smelling of Lynx Africa (Axe Apollo for America), Stella Artois (Busch), prawn cocktail crisps (pickle chips), arse (ass) and balls (nuts). At the top end Creed, Krug, langouste, bottom and groin. And, to be be fair, that's assuming they don't have openings and worse — but nothing a bucket of warm water and gentle soap won't fix. The socioeconomics of it are largely defined by who ends up washing them. Although a person could wash them in the sink before bed.) "100% leather lingerie's always turning heads" (3) 🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣 I scored: 1 under par https://www.minutecryptic.com/ https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=99rN65Bm4sg

Wordle 1,546 4/6* ⬛🟨⬛⬛⬛ 🟨🟨⬛⬛⬛ ⬛⬛⬛🟩🟨 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 https://www.nytimes.com/games/wordle/index.html Minute Cryptic - 12 September, 2025 (I should have gotten this in 3 under par but I've gotten so used to the drill of: definition, indicators, fodder — in that order. Which parses in several ways, which is why it's a clever clue and it was enjoyable/annoying in equal measure. I was also distracted but that's not an excuse really. I've on page 229 of The Minute Cryptic book, I've been doing bits and notetaking before bed. I saw a good folk horror film recently called Family Dinner, an Austrian film from 2022, which I'd guessed the plot of, in detail, by 1/3rd of the way through, but it had the vibes and stage acting to keep me away from reading and my phone for the duration. Stage acting is especially relevant to the screen when there is a limited cast and limited locations. It is on Amazon Prime. That's not to imply stage actors are any better than any other actors just that some screenplays could be relatively easily transferred to stage. Or some stage plays relatively easily transferred to screen, and stage skills are relevant in either case. Which can no doubt, if talented enough, without a background in stage. I think that's the beauty of the BBC often having radio programmes with talented writers and performers before moving over to screen. I suppose podcasts could work that way in a more general sense, if TV production companies and networks could incubate that way, but I think the BBC has established pathways for doing so and the luxury of being able to take risks. Although there's a ton of caveats there, because a lot of it is shit aimed at wankers. And that's a very subjective thing to say and can safely be ignored.) "Blackbeard rumoured to have submerged body part in canal?" (7) ⚪️🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣 I scored: 2 under par https://www.minutecryptic.com/ https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=KtAEsLHkGx4

Wordle 1,545 3/6* ⬛⬛🟨⬛⬛ ⬛🟨🟨🟨⬛ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 https://www.nytimes.com/games/wordle/index.html Minute Cryptic - 11 September, 2025 (this was a tricky one because of the number of potential indicators. I used a clue for the definition and, as in a lot of these things, is retrospectively obvious and it's a good clue in its surface and its logic. I'm running a bit late today because I am undergoing moderate inflammation from AS, which is a sign I should be doing some exercise. The news today, although in the quantification of souls just one, no more or less human than the rest, about Charlie Kirk is bloody awful. I didn't know the guy, I knew of him, and didn't agree with him, but political violence is as terrible as any other violence and it is implicitly wrong. It has backfired because it has gotten people like me sympathising with people we disagree with and it is not going to make people who agree with Charlie Kirk agree with him less.) "Blank white squares in a box? The first of tricky problems" (7) ⚪️🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣 I scored: 2 under par https://www.minutecryptic.com/ https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=Sk64M_Hs8k4

Wordle 1,544 5/6* ⬛⬛⬛⬛🟨 🟨⬛⬛⬛⬛ ⬛🟨🟩⬛⬛ 🟩⬛🟩🟩🟨 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 https://www.nytimes.com/games/wordle/index.html Minute Cryptic - 10 September, 2025 (A hard one, that took some thought because the definition isn't immediately obvious. Late last night I did the chapter of their, Minute Cryptic's, book about substitutions, which was hard going in places because I didn't pay adequate attention to the introduction for that chapter but reread it. I'm really enjoying the book. The thought given to the progression of knowledge and skills is very well thought out. Rather like learning to swim where a person feels more able to deal with progressively deeper water despite starting with an aid. I prefer that style of teaching because there is a logical progression, although maybe it gives a false impression of been too easy at the start and that would bore some people but I think that's fine as long as it's mixed up because I found the anagram section, which is fairly early on, harder than the substitution section, so 'difficult' is itself subjective. The next stage after that kind of progressive learning and doing, is reference books. I hope Minute Cryptic do a 'Introduction to Algorithms' but for cryptic crosswords because many of the ones I've seen have had cryptics as a secondary concern. I'm slowly getting faster at anagrams, which is an example of where computers have made someone dumber because I've usually either written a program to solve them for me or used someone else's solver. I'm using this as an excuse to learn properly.) "Playing piano after American season of pipe organs?" (9) 🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣 I scored: 3 under par https://www.minutecryptic.com/ https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=MhMiGYGckpg

There are three politics: Futility, practicality and revolution. Everything surface level is marketing that the marketers may believe.

Wordle 1,543 4/6* ⬛⬛🟨🟨⬛ 🟩🟩⬛⬛⬛ 🟩🟩⬛🟩🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 https://www.nytimes.com/games/wordle/index.html Minute Cryptic - 9 September, 2025 (I had nightmares last night about a pastel coloured chicken shack, that from the highway, because this was in America, looked like a low rise concrete rectangle wholly painted with blue, light blue, and orange in broad diagonal stripes. And I got inside and there were three staff and a buffet which smelled delicious. There were three servers, a young guy refilling the buffet to the left, and a man in the middle, and a lady to the right. They were all wearing uniform in pastel colours and blue chequered chef visors. The lady serving to my right, who was home counties English, judging by her accent, said, about the man on the far left "has he been eating those cheese fries again? They're delicious. Why don't you try them'. I got the impression he couldn't stop although he looked well enough. I tried a fry and they were totally delicious and everything else smelled delicious even the cabbage. To be fair the cabbage did look healthy and isn't traditionally associated with fast food in America. It was only a nightmare because I'm trying to stick to a diet. Yesterday I exceeded my daily calories because someone bought me a snack. They were delicious fries, the perfect thickness, fried in the perfect oil, with just the right amount of some umami rich cheese like parmigiano or epoisses or a really good cheddar, perfectly crisp and with a good choice of seasoning. Diet hell? Seems to me that would depend on perspective.) "Liking when head of state becomes centrist?" (5) 🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣 I scored: 2 under par https://www.minutecryptic.com/ https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=h86MYCl1ktA

Wordle 1,542 4/6* ⬛⬛🟨⬛⬛ 🟨⬛🟩⬛⬛ ⬛🟨🟩🟨⬛ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 https://www.nytimes.com/games/wordle/index.html Minute Cryptic - 8 September, 2025 (I got just under 1/3 of the way through, their, Minute Cryptic's book yesterday. Which is clearly not a boast about reading speed. I wasn't reading it non-stop and I was taking notes. Physical note taking, while reading, seems to aid memory of what is read, along with doing, there are many practical examples in the book. Although when there is less 'doing' to reinforce remembering stuff I have sound spaced repetition more effective (Nicky Case' page is still an excellent, practical, doing, explainer of spaced repition, and has dodged enshittification: https://ncase.me/remember/ ). I also suspect that note taking forces me to slow down and pay more attention. I also, deep down, want breakfast.) "Pig's so crazy for dirt" (6) 🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣 I scored: 2 under par https://www.minutecryptic.com/ https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=cVvpTrhcCaI