Instead of just citing most of the noel crossword’s clues as Gold, I thought I should just induct the whole thing into the DA Pantheon where it may reside alongside its much-heralded peers.
By my reckoning, this week’s induction brings to four the number of crosswords that we have a record of which stand unsurpassed in brilliance.
They are as follows:
- the McCrossword;
- the footnote crossword;
- the marriage crossword; and, of course,
- last week’s noel crossword.
Amongst DA’s followers, many speak in hushed tones of other crosswords worthy of worship which have, regrettably, been lost to the ravages of time. They include:
- the Muralidaran/nong’s rumba/red-handed crossword;
- the taboo crossword, which featured DA breaking all known cryptic conventions;
- the “no animals were harmed in the making of this crossword” crossword; and
- the do-re-mi crossword.
And in the second echelon, acclaimed yet not worshipped, reside the following:
- the AC/DC crossword;
- the Simpsons crossword;
- the George Orwell crossword; and
- the bobbing-message-in-a-bottle crossword.
Thus stands the DA Pantheon. May we bow down in obeisance.
Maybe if we ask DA very nicely, he’ll reissue the hallowed crosswords online.
I’d like to make a case for the Six Kings crossword – wonderful, wonderful stuff: possibly lost to history. Anyone else remember that magic?
I didn’t really obsess about DA crosswords before 2007. Was it before then?
Around then, possibly more recent. Scattered through the clues were notable Kings (from Elvis to Stephen) – six in total, which gave the answer VI-KINGS to another clue. A thing of beauty.