John

Wordle 1,602 4/6* ⬛⬛🟨🟨⬛ 🟨⬛🟨⬛⬛ 🟨🟨⬛🟨⬛ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 https://www.nytimes.com/games/wordle/index.html Minute Cryptic - 7 November, 2025 "Water-deprived pharaoh dies after mixing up directions to Eden" (8) 🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣 🏆 0 hints – 1 under the community par (38,515 solvers so far). https://www.minutecryptic.com/

Wordle 1,601 4/6* ⬛⬛⬛🟨🟨 🟨⬛🟨🟨⬛ 🟨🟩⬛🟨🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 https://www.nytimes.com/games/wordle/index.html Minute Cryptic - 6 November, 2025 "Location housing administration's leader!?" (6) ⚪️⚪️🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣 🤝 2 hints – matched the community par (42,398 solvers so far). https://www.minutecryptic.com/

Wordle 1,600 3/6* ⬛⬛⬛⬛🟨 🟩🟨⬛🟩⬛ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 https://www.nytimes.com/games/wordle/index.html Minute Cryptic - 5 November, 2025 "Tap spade over ground" (9) 🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣 🏆 0 hints – 3 under the community par (35,128 solvers so far). https://www.minutecryptic.com/

Wordle 1,599 3/6* ⬛⬛🟩⬛🟩 ⬛🟨🟩⬛🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 https://www.nytimes.com/games/wordle/index.html Minute Cryptic - 4 November, 2025 "Root canal ache really starts with decay" (6) 🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣 🏆 0 hints – 3 under the community par (29,950 solvers so far). https://www.minutecryptic.com/

Wordle 1,598 3/6* ⬛⬛🟩⬛⬛ ⬛⬛🟩⬛🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 https://www.nytimes.com/games/wordle/index.html Minute Cryptic - 3 November, 2025 "Slim odds of solving that" (6) 🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣 🏆 0 hints – 1 under the community par (46,213 solvers so far). https://www.minutecryptic.com/

Wordle 1,597 3/6* ⬛🟨🟨🟨⬛ 🟩🟩⬛🟩🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 https://www.nytimes.com/games/wordle/index.html Minute Cryptic - 2 November, 2025 (I found this one difficult. I woke up in the middle of the night. An interesting day.) "Swarming bumble bees escape stubborn beast" (4) 🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣 🏆 0 hints – 1 under the community par (18,283 solvers so far). https://www.minutecryptic.com/ https://youtu.be/Q4vs7OkhCWU

Wordle 1,596 4/6* 🟨⬛⬛⬛⬛ ⬛⬛🟨🟨⬛ ⬛🟨⬛🟨🟨 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 https://www.nytimes.com/games/wordle/index.html Minute Cryptic - 1 November, 2025 (I was dreading this one because I am in acute pain and as a final insult a little bit of a cold, luckily the clue wasn't the kind I find difficult. I don't consider this much pain debilitating but it clearly is a bit because every idea for what write is punctuated by it. At the same time while I'm not enthusiastic about it I'm not depressed by it either. The pain is like an annoying younger brother. It's a literal pain in the arse, in this case and ribs, neck, and breathing, AxSpA, but is unlikely to kill a person immediately and some degree of humour can be derived from it. I am also yet to stand up, which initially will resemble Wilfred Bramble's Albert Steptoe with a bad back, but will, hopefully, be OK by lunchtime. It responds well to movement. In fact movement is essential. It is tiring though, but not in an especially bad way, in some ways it's the kind of tiredness that is quite relaxing and aids reading. The cold doesn't feel like COVID and is just a little bit of a sore throat and feeling a bit under the weather. I've never understood sadomasochism‡. I understand masochism because nothing would get done.) "Seductive, romantic guy dumped after ‘mid’ sex" (6) 🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣 🏆 0 hints – 2 under the community par (29,698 solvers so far). https://www.minutecryptic.com/ https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=2b_srKF3G6w ‡ https://youtu.be/GcS3ds09ztQ

Wordle 1,595 4/6* ⬛⬛🟨⬛⬛ 🟨🟨🟨⬛⬛ 🟩⬛⬛🟩🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 https://www.nytimes.com/games/wordle/index.html Minute Cryptic - 31 October, 2025 "Stalked in bed, werewolf returned after we drifted off?" (6) (A nice easy one. I voted, at lunchtime, in a local electon, which is essentially local government and applies just to a single 'ward' which is a small part of a town. The St John's Ward of Tunbridge Wells has a population of about 7.5k, in a town with a population of about 55k, in a borough, a larger geographic area, with a population of about 115k. In this small ward 4159 People are registered to vote. Which - doing some back of the envelope maths - is most of the adult population. 28.4% of eligible voters voted. The three to watch, in my opinion, were The Liberal Democrats, The Green Party, and, the relatively new party which is associated with the flags on lamposts, not so much the Bhutan and Welsh ones, Reform. Labour didn't stand in this ward. It's a solidly Lib Dem ward and I think they submitted their papers late or made a clerical error. The Lib Dems got 53%, Reform 15% and the Green Party 14%. I voted Lib Dem. Not because I particularly agree with them but tactically because my experience of dealing with immigrants and refugees have been largely positive and maybe that's a privileged position inasmuch as I'm not dealing with people smugglers, next to a hotel or house with large numbers of men who are unable to work, with very little cash, because, almost by design or dysfunction it takes a great deal of time to process their claims. The overwhelming majority of immigrants are here legally and my experiences of them, and the few I've met who have claimed asylum, have been totally positive. From the young Indian doctors helping to deal with my, moribund, dad, to the man running the store in the latterly decaying former chemists, to the nice lady in the charity shop, and relatives. That's not to say I think any large group of people are any better than any other large group of people. There's almost definitely going to be bad people and clusters of them among any suffiently large group of people. I have no blinkers and know people. So I thought Reform, with the immigration Leitmotif, we're going to increase their vote but actually it went down. They are clearly better organised - there was a nice older lady from Reform outside the vote collecting voter numbers, which the Lib Dems were doing too, to see who turned up. The turnout was low. Last general election, where an MP was elected, in Tunbridge Wells overalll turnout was 69% and in this ward, if I remember correctly, about 76%. I don't think this is at all indicative of national trends and I thought it would be. I like the Greens but it's a bit Nigel Thunberg.) 🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣 🏆 0 hints – 1 under the community par (35,175 solvers so far). https://www.minutecryptic.com/ https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=PbgKEjNBHqM

Wordle 1,594 4/6* ⬛🟨🟨⬛⬛ ⬛🟩⬛🟨🟨 🟨🟩🟩🟨⬛ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 https://www.nytimes.com/games/wordle/index.html Five-hundred Alphabet A to zed European summer months Australian summer months A to Zee Aye to zee Homophone Flowers Nat king cole The A-Z NATO phonetic It's like being constipated. The worst thing is that if it's par 2 lots of other people got it on zero par so the problem is me. Minute Cryptic - 30 October, 2025 "Summer read “D” from “A-Z”?" (5) (BRB) 🟡🟡🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣 🤝 2 hints – matched the community par (37,373 solvers so far). https://www.minutecryptic.com/ https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=mniCiePvSyE

Wordle 1,593 2/6* (better than a one, worse than a three or four) ⬛⬛🟩🟨🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 https://www.nytimes.com/games/wordle/index.html Minute Cryptic - 29 October, 2025 (how the effin and jeffin I didn't get that in par zero. "What Now" is a good song.) "Egad! I am on duty guarding treasure!" (7) 🟡🟡🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣 🤝 2 hints – matched the community par (39,908 solvers so far). https://www.minutecryptic.com/ https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=YxSZJ6ei0WU

Wordle 1,592 4/6* ⬛🟨⬛⬛⬛ 🟩⬛⬛⬛⬛ 🟩⬛⬛⬛🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 https://www.nytimes.com/games/wordle/index.html Minute Cryptic - 28 October, 2025 (a satisfying one and oddly universal. Yesterday I used a book voucher on a Daily Telegraph big book of cryptic crosswords and a The Guardian big book of cryptic crosswords, I haven't started either yet. They're chiral newspapers in the opinion and pretentions of the supplements, but I like the reporting in both, I think most British newspapers have good reporters. Plus a feature writer for one of their magazines, Telegraph IIRC, was kind to my mum interviewing her about grief a few years ago. And more importantly than that I got a two week supply of Aytac Strained Yoghurt which is Anatolian style yoghurt that I very much like. I like yoghurt to taste of yoghurt and I like Greek style but the Greek style most supermarkets do is very much anglicised. British food is really good. I just think demand has been warped by Francophobia, 100 years of the Victorians, followed by the class divides/enshittification of the industrial revolution, followed by two world wars and the only thing that has livened it up for most people is immigration. Despite having an empire we didn't 'borrow' anywhere near as much food as we should have done. If I was in charge I would have made cultural appropriation outright theft in culinary terms. My favourite British food is driven by the quality of the produce, which is primarily from butcher shops and greengrocers rather than supermarkets, and my favourite pudding is steak and kidney pudding. Although, maybe it's some middle-aged thing where I'm trying to subconsciously eke out testosterone, I am, genuinely, mostly vegan on environmental grounds. The funniest thing I saw yesterday, other than my superb 1990s orange jumper, was an inflatable Halloween ghoul and 'trick or treat' gravestone which had malfunctioned and looked like the ghoul was vigorously humping the gravestone. I took a video and dubbed it with 7 seconds of The Boogie Times Tribe "The Dark Stranger" and used it as an Instagram story.. I 'sort of' checked this comment.) "Retiring police diver oddly wanting to refrain from farming" (1,1,1,1,1) 🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣 🏆 0 hints – 2 under the community par (29,948 solvers so far). https://www.minutecryptic.com/ https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=VDTF6ECSWXM https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=hdrKZHvl-Y8

Wordle 1,591 3/6* 🟩⬛🟨🟨🟩 🟩🟨🟨⬛🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 https://www.nytimes.com/games/wordle/index.html Minute Cryptic - 27 October, 2025 (An easier one with a somewhat tricky definition. Yesterday I watched the The Taking of Deborah Logan, from 2014, a kind of silly, but well made, horror film, which passed the test of me not looking at my phone for the duration. If it was shot wholky digitally they did a very good job of emulating Kodak Vision3 film in places. It is also "Post IPhone". 2007 is when the world changed dramatically because the iPhone laid the way for the Internet in everyone's pocket all the time. It turned the Internet from something that people chose to spend time participating in, into something they are intricately connected to and a part of. 2014 is well into the iPhone clones, and Android, being usable. So, mentally at least, 2007 is the beginning in a relatively abrupt societal change akin to the fall of the Berlin Wall, collapse of the Soviet Union, or 9/11. A big change. So films became 21st century from about 2008 as society incorporated the changes. Athough, one could argue it still is legislatively and psychologically; society lags technology. My younger relatives only know this and it was no doubt the same when I was their age in different ways - we had microcomputers, but far less people had them. I also watched the first two episodes of Daisy May and Charlie Cooper's NightWatch on the BBC which was good because they didn't, at least so far, resort to faking stuff, or hysteria, to validate their beliefs. Essentially it was like Ghost Adventures, a show that was (or is) Ghost Bros and pioneered the kind of overexcitement that is now common on YouTube - saying "Bro" a lot and making a fuss at the drop of a hat. I'm not a believer in such things. It is quite possible to like things you don't believe. I like fiction of most kinds if it's well written. Imagination is important to me. I firmly believe that weird stuff happens and, often, but very much not always, believe people when they say they've experienced something. I just think an explanation employing the scientific method is far more interesting than, even sometimes compelling, narratives , when it applies to the real world. At the same time that scientific method requires imagination to form a hypothesis and methods of testing it. Also, and I kind of loathe the sceptic banner, because I think teams are for sport and the weak minded, I'm OK with not knowing something immediately or potentially never, and talking about the balance of probabilities and still not being sure. So I'm also sceptical of sceptics, although less so than of people opposed to them. I also want breakfast. I get philosophical before breakfast. So I haven't checked for spelling and grammar.) "Early alien race with many legs" (5) 🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣 🏆 0 hints – 2 under the community par (32,960 solvers so far). https://www.minutecryptic.com/ https://youtu.be/5XdUt3iIkZ4

Wordle 1,590 4/6* ⬛⬛⬛🟨⬛ ⬛⬛🟩⬛⬛ ⬛🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 https://www.nytimes.com/games/wordle/index.html Minute Cryptic - 26 October, 2025 (I found this difficult but should have gotten it quicker. I'll blame daylight saving time. Although, in theory, I have slept approximately an hour longer than normal and should be more well rested. I used got two letters as hints. I think my principle problems solving it were: topological realities in three dimensions, Roman numerals, hexadecimal, the collective words for bees, synonyms on both sides, pencils, binary, computerised tomography, and the clue was like being optically bombarded with potential indicators. Essentially, though, I'm griping. I had that answer but discarded it because it didn't make sense to me. I'll write something somewhat later: The.) "Expect seat diagonal to 5B, say" (7) 🟡🟡🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣 🤝 2 hints – matched the community par (42,303 solvers so far). https://www.minutecryptic.com/ https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=ssYdf-eH_3w

The dysgenics of Idiocracy is bad science, but many of the observations are exactly where it's going: * I'm sitting watching YouTube shorts with a six year old. Not my choice, I'd limit the pad to an hour a day, or less, maybe on a timer.

Wordle 1,589 4/6* ⬛⬛🟨⬛⬛ ⬛🟩⬛⬛⬛ ⬛🟩⬛🟨⬛ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 https://www.nytimes.com/games/wordle/index.html Minute Cryptic - 25 October, 2025 (got it the same as most people but didn't fully understand why I'd got until I watched the video. I think one learns less when it's an easy solve. Naturally I don't want to spend an hour on a single clue, and in a crossword would do other numbers if stuck, especially answers that intersect that clue. I was going to write about something but I have forgotten what it is and it will probably hit me mid way through breakfast. I'm going to get a book of cryptic crosswords and have to choose between The Times, The Telegraph, Daily Mail or Guardian's collection. I like that I live in a country with a diverse press, and cryptic crosswords, and they're all basically fine newspapers, if a person avoids the opinions and many of the editorials. I'm busy today and will go to Waterstones or TG Jones tomorrow. Amazon don't accept book vouchers. The nearest independent is in Wadhurst and I don't think they'll stock them. I'm not wedded to the idea independent always equals better or is inherently better but I think diversity is a good thing for choice. There is a tendency to publish stuff on niche publishers that won't be stocked in store elsewhere. For instance I bought "Revolutionary Tunbridge Wells: The remarkable role of Tunbridge Wells in the development of revolutionary politics in Britain 1884-1919" by Julian Wilson at Halls Bookshop Tunbridge Wells which was kind of a mind-blowing book because one wouldn't have expected Tunbridge Wells to have been so interesting at the turn of the century. The local museum is overseen by Mrs* Bucket or maybe Mrs Buckets go there; but point stands that anything scandalous or political or grubby or industrial is minimized. And I've spotted To Bardo or Not To Bardo by Antoine Volodine at a bookshop in London, published by Open Letter Books - a translation from French, which is a great book which I'm surprised hasn't been adapted for TV by a network or steaming service. Currently I'm reading The Quantum Thief by Hannu Rajaniemi, which I bought second hand but was originally from the HMS Sultan Library. Periodically libraries shed books. Not quality checked because I'm trying to emulate TEMU.) "Room for kids, yes? Run back to grab second-grader" (7) 🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣 🏆 0 hints – 1 under the community par (33,725 solvers so far). https://www.minutecryptic.com/ https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=hbrMII_tmMY * Richard was basically alright.

Wordle 1,588 5/6* ⬛⬛🟨🟨🟨 🟨🟨⬛⬛🟨 🟩🟨⬛🟩⬛ 🟩🟩⬛🟩🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 https://www.nytimes.com/games/wordle/index.html Minute Cryptic - 24 October, 2025 (I don't watch the explanation videos as much as I should, because a like and comment increases their importance to the algorithm, but I did in this case because my first guess was correct. The algorithm measures attention caused by the spectacle in or associated with the video. The BBC's Top Gear, in its most popular form, with Clarkson, May, and Hammond, was nominally about cars but also about the parasocial relationship with the viewers and the dynamics of the hosts, the spectacle of the show, and entertainment therein. Clarkson's farm is a similar mix of entertainment, the parasocial relationships with the viewers and the dynamics of the characters involved, and the spectacle. But I think that Top Gear was, to a greater extent, one of the biggest influences in British television of the last couple of decades. Potentially globally given the extent to which it was exported. It's not reality but it's not so far from reality that the viewer doesn't feel the characters aren't real people. Being the BBC it had all kinds of restrictions on how it was paid for, so no product placement, sponsorship and that sort of thing. Yesterday I was watching a YouTube channel called 'Unspeakable', and later Ben Azelart, on YouTube and through convergency they have arrived at a similar thing to Top Gear except aimed at kids. I haven't got a problem with them because they're not bad channels and they're nowhere near as exploitative as a great deal of others. In a world where being somebody and being viewed as a success is regarded as success I don't begrudge them. The first video I watched from Unspeakable was where they built a Lego House waterpark. Very Top Gear like except with things that would appeal to children rather than Top Gear viewers. I don't know the budget but I'm assuming the Lego waterpark video cost Unspeakable between $10k and $50k depending on how it was costed and how diligent they were about things like insurance - excluding the costs of equipment and production. That video will get something like $5000, depending on the estimate, per million views on YouTube. It had several million views but that's not huge money. So YouTubers are going to necessarily have to minimise costs of producing the video and/or get sponsorship or more murky product placement and merchandising. Those are not good incentives. YouTube is like Top Gear with enshittification built in. I think it will end up with an appalling class divide where parents who can afford it have subscriptions battling with channels evolving more and more clever ways to grab people's attention. I think Unspeakable are currently among the good guys. Kids YouTube is becoming industrial with light regulation. My nephew is six. I very much recommend everyone watches the Black Mirror episode called Fifteen Million Merits. I have not checked this comment for quality and somewhat endorse this message.) "Curtains need to be restitched after this is detached" (3,3) 🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣 🏆 0 hints – 2 under the community par (30,143 solvers so far). https://www.minutecryptic.com/ https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=_68QwK1cMvk

Wordle 1,587 3/6* ⬛🟩⬛⬛⬛ ⬛🟩🟩⬛⬛ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 https://www.nytimes.com/games/wordle/index.html Minute Cryptic - 23 October, 2025 (I'm getting muxh better at these ones, although it still took me a little while longer. It's really hard to forge a ghost picture. Which is a stupid statement inasmuch as I ain't afraid of no ghost and I don't believe in the supernatural. What I mean, specifically, is it's actually quite difficult to make a picture of a ghost that looks like many of the purported past photographs of ghosts. I think there should be an annual sceptic's Halloween "nake a ghost photo" competition with different categories like "the funniest ghost" or "properly scary looking". The easiest way is a double exposure and someone posing, or posing some kind of linen or similar cloth for ectoplasm, like many of the famous Victorian profiles. My late night attempt was a sketch of a Victorian clown in a picture I took of a Victorian graveyard. I ended up giving myself 4.5/10 because I think it's passable, and better than most, but really I'd need a model and given most cemeteries are public, this one wasn't a currently in service cemetery, people walking their dogs, on history tours, or visiting Nth great grandparents (from a pool of 2^x, x generations ago, rapidly a lot of people), would likely be disturbed by someone in period dress walking around. Although I suppose I could do it myself because someone dressed as a Victorian clown carrying a modern canera and a Manfrotto tripod looks more like a dickhead than a ghost. Unless I dropped dead dressed as a clown, with a camera tripod, and camera, while taking pictures of myself, in a cemetery. In which case: fair play reality.) "wAnTed!?" (2,5) 🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣 🏆 0 hints – 2 under the community par (32,693 solvers so far). https://www.minutecryptic.com/ https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=eUodQ5fD2B4

Wordle 1,586 4/6* ⬛⬛⬛🟩⬛ ⬛⬛⬛🟩🟩 🟩⬛🟩🟩🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 https://www.nytimes.com/games/wordle/index.html Minute Cryptic - 22 October, 2025 (yes. I walked a few kilometres with my nephew and other than slight disappointment there were no Halloween Discovery Days, or maybe one had to ask, at at the library, it was pretty successful dar away from nonsense on YouTube. We went to the park, through a spooky graveyard, he had a book voucher, and £5 spending money he could spend on whatever he wants. He bought some Halloween fake crime scene tape (£1.49 Pound Stretcher), a water puzzlle (£1 TG Jones), a small wind up duck toy with magnets (50p Ukraine charity shop Royal Victoria Place - turned out to be a pretty well made Chinese toy), and an plushy infinity cube baby toy (50p Refugease charity shop for refugees St John's road). People are generally very nice. The lady in the Imago charity shop gave him a Drumstick sweet, although he did ask her, politely, why they were there, the man in TG Jones was nice and the nice lady in the Refugease charity shop on St John's road explained to him what the coins are because, basically, at 6 he doesn't know because his world otherwise works on ApplePay. I think the reason he ended up with change is because he has other stuff and relatives and others buying him sweets and crap most of the time. I think if he had less already he'd have blown the £5 on crap. Like the criticisms of the marshmallow test. The infinity cube is a few years to young for him but he is fascinated by them because I have one with the world and geographic information on it. His new one had symbols and he can pull it around more to examine how it works. £6.99 of book voucher went on the on Bunny Vs Monkey the Gigantic Joke Fight, which he can read quite well but insists on reading with his mum. Which is pretty funny.) "Private investigator losing 50 from roulette spin" (9) 🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣 🏆 0 hints – 2 under the community par (32,238 solvers so far). https://www.minutecryptic.com/ https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=Ehpd2TuSJCQ