Cryptic Sudoku
(Published on 28. May 2026, 11:32 by trueman)
Notes
- Contains 'Britishisms' which non-UK solvers may not be familiar with (plus a Cracking The Cryptic channel reference).
- Likely works poorly on mobile due to lack of exposed keyboard for arbitrary letter entry.
Rules
Normal sudoku rules apply. Each number 1-9 maps to one of 9 distinct letters. The answers to the cryptic crossword clues below run horizontally (for clues ending in 'a') or vertically (for clues ending in 'd') from the numbered cells and may overlap. The number in bracket after the clue represents the sum of the digits that the letters represent.
1a Standard road with single paving block (45)
1d Forged iron ring for someone who is not my friend (6)
2d Mess of shape without limits of radii (34)
3a Flag prime member of 5a (12)
3d Helps Simon see sources of less evident naked singles? (19)
4d Buckle entrance shortened after period of not eating (35)
5a Minutes now expelling cry of pain with crushed toes (25)
6a Mimosa? Prost! Bottoms-up! Cheers! (17)
7a Desires lustful start to sloppy French kiss (23)
Solution code: Digits of row 2, left to right
Comments
yesterday, 00:09 by Mondo
Very neatly done! For a solver with experience of cryptics not as hard as 3*, especially once you know which letters you're working with. but the way the puzzzle types interact unfolds very satifyingly, and a 'word value' rather than 'word length' is a really nice idea!
on 28. May 2026, 23:59 by Dcs
As a rookie at cryptics, I heavily relied on the fact that each clue used letters from the same pool of 9. Really fun!
