Cryptic Crosswords

an orange head in profile, with a thought bubble inside and a mini crossword inside the thought bubble

Welcome to Madryn Crosswords where you can try some of my cryptic crosswords or contact me about commissioning bespoke puzzles. I have always found words and language fascinating and have been trying to solve crosswords, with mixed success, for as long as I can remember. ‘Quick’ or ‘Cryptic’, alone or with a much cleverer friend, I can’t resist a grid and am particularly drawn to the sheer oddness of the Cryptic Crossword. I’ll try any crossword and have glanced at the Guardian cryptic most days since the times of the great Araucaria, though I rarely completed his brilliant puzzles without help! In the last few years, with a little more time on my hands, I have been compiling my own puzzles for friends and family who have been (mostly) polite and appreciative, now the puzzles are available to a wider audience to solve and provide feedback. 

Cryptic Crosswords

Welcome to Madryn Crosswords where you can try some of my cryptic crosswords or contact me about commissioning bespoke puzzles. I have always found words and language fascinating and have been trying to solve crosswords, with mixed success, for as long as I can remember. ‘Quick’ or ‘Cryptic’, alone or with a much cleverer friend, I can’t resist a grid and am particularly drawn to the sheer oddness of the Cryptic Crossword. I’ll try any crossword and have glanced at the Guardian cryptic most days since the times of the great Araucaria, though I rarely completed his brilliant puzzles without help! In the last few years, with a little more time on my hands, I have been compiling my own puzzles for friends and family who have been (mostly) polite and appreciative, now the puzzles are available to a wider audience to solve and provide feedback. 

Hello, I’m Sean. I was born, raised and educated to a reasonable standard in Wales but have lived in the West Midlands for most of my adult life with my wife and kids. Like many expats I have a rose tinted view of the country I chose to leave years ago and this might sometimes be reflected in my puzzles. Welsh names and Rugby references may appear a little more than expected though not too often I hope. Generally ideas for clues come from all over, some crosswords have loose themes, which might or might not be reflected in the title, others don’t.

Madryn?

Bespoke Crosswords

A personalised puzzle could be a great gift for a crossword lover. If you are interested in a personalised printed puzzle as a gift or on a greetings card for example, or would like crosswords for inclusion in a publication, please contact me using the form below with your requirements. Compiling cryptic crosswords is time consuming, exactly how long it takes depends on what is required. Quick, non-cryptic crosswords take less time. The fee I need to charge and the notice I need would reflect these factors.

One of the highlights of our Diamond Wedding celebrations was the delight of solving the crossword Sean did. 

As I solved the clues it gradually became apparent that many of the answers were cleverly connected to the time around our wedding. 

It was such a lovely surprise to realise that the crossword was designed specially for us. Thank you for a great present Madryn (Sean) – I can thoroughly recommend a Madryn crossword as an original gift for a special occasion. 

Mary Jenkins – Somerset

Sean made me a very clever customised retirement cryptic crossword puzzle. Not being too quick, it wasn’t till the second of my dogs’ names came up as an answer that I suspected anything! Some of his clues are devilishly difficult. Prepare to be flummoxed and bamboozled, foxed and challenged – before the satisfaction of finding the right, indeed the ONLY, solution. 

Jill Bennett – Suffolk

Contact Me

Madryn

Madryn is an old Welsh word for a fox and was a sort of a nickname used by an old friend (Hello Edric if you are reading this) in very specific circumstances, too complicated to go into here. I know little or nothing about actual foxes, they may be very straight-forward, uncomplicated animals in reality but their reputation for deviousness made me think this might be a suitable alias for a crossword setter and I have always enjoyed the idea of having a secret identity.