Last week we discussed which crosswords deserved to be inducted into the DA Pantheon, and, almost as if he knew we would be discussing the topic, a few days later DA delivered a classic which shall be duly inducted undisputed into the highest of ranks.

So as of today, 14th December, 2010, the DA Pantheon features these hallowed members:

1. the McCrossword;
2. the footnote crossword;
3. the marriage crossword;
4. the noel crossword;
5. the money crossword;
6. the Zimmerman crossword (published on the 24th of September, 2004); and
7. last week’s loop-de-loop crossword.

Not quite hitting the same heights, in the DA Para-Pantheon sit the following still remarkably good members:

1. the AC/DC crossword;
2. the Simpsons crossword;
3. the George Orwell crossword;
4. the bobbing-message-in-a-bottle crossword;
5. the Where’s Wally crossword;
6. the indigenous crossword;
7. the two-letter crossword;
8. the portmanteau crossword;
9. the product placement crossword (published on the 27th May, 2005);
10. the no-animals crossword (published on the 11th March, 2005).

Other DA crosswords have also been spoken of in hushed tones yet remain unrecognised. These include:

1. the taboo crossword on the 19th August, 2005, which featured DA breaking all known cryptic conventions and can be found in the motherlode;
2. the Muralidaran/nong’s rumba/red-handed crossword, which dates from 2007 or so, and is more than likely somewhere in the motherlode;
3. the pool crossword (as in at a pub), which is dated to around 2007 or earlier and should be in the motherlode;
4. the everything-is-an-island crossword, which is dated to around 2000/2001;
5. the six kings crossword, which goes undated; and
6. the do-re-mi crossword, which is also undated.

Thus stands the DA Pantheon; thus stand duly recognised the glories of DA’s bounty.

After last week’s ordinary DA, now’s the time to relive his moments of absolute glory by going over which crosswords should be new inductees into the DA Pantheon.

On the 24th of December, 2009, the DA Pantheon stood as follows:

1. the McCrossword;
2. the footnote crossword;
3. the marriage crossword; and
4. the noel crossword.

In the second echelon, the Para-Pantheon, there stood the following triumphs:

1. the AC/DC crossword;
2. the Simpsons crossword;
3. the George Orwell crossword; and
4. the bobbing-message-in-a-bottle crossword.

Undeservedly unrecognised, I nominate the following crosswords into the Pantheon and Para-Pantheon respectively:

1. the money crossword for the Pantheon;
2. the Zimmerman crossword from the 24th of September, 2004, for the Pantheon;
3. the Where’s Wally crossword for the Para-Pantheon;
4. the indigenous crossword for the Para-Pantheon;
5. the two-letter crossword for the Para-Pantheon;
6. the portmanteau crossword for the Para-Pantheon;
7. the product placement crossword from the 27th May, 2005, for the Para-Pantheon;
8. the no-animals crossword from the 11th March, 2005, for the Para-Pantheon.

Other crosswords to have been nominated for the Pantheon or Para-Pantheon in the past but I haven’t done myself or haven’t seen since the first time I did them include the following:

1. the taboo crossword on the 19th August, 2005, which featured DA breaking all known cryptic conventions, and can be found in the motherlode;
2. the Muralidaran/nong’s rumba/red-handed crossword, which dates from 2007 or so I’d guess, and is more than likely somewhere in the motherlode;
3. the everything-is-an-island crossword, which is dated to around 2000/2001;
4. the six kings crossword, which goes undated;
5. the do-re-mi crossword, which is also undated.

I’ll follow this up with another post officially inducting the hallowed crosswords into the Pantheon and Para-Pantheon.

So now I ask you: are my nominations deserving? Are there others I’ve missed?

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:

1. the McCrossword;
2. the footnote crossword;
3. the marriage crossword; and, of course,
4. 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:

1. the Muralidaran/nong’s rumba/red-handed crossword;
2. the taboo crossword, which featured DA breaking all known cryptic conventions;
3. the “no animals were harmed in the making of this crossword” crossword; and
4. the do-re-mi crossword.

And in the second echelon, acclaimed yet not worshipped, reside the following:

1. the AC/DC crossword;
2. the Simpsons crossword;
3. the George Orwell crossword; and
4. the bobbing-message-in-a-bottle crossword.

Thus stands the DA Pantheon. May we bow down in obeisance.

RC made a wonderful suggestion while we were walking down Chapel Street, searching for a second-hand trumpet (I ended up buying a steel-stringed acoustic guitar and a ukulele) and marvelling at what we had just experienced: we need a separate category to hail the best DA crosswords.

So now we have: The DA Pantheon.

To our minds, three crosswords stand head and shoulders above the rest:

1. the McCrossword, which is perhaps the best crossword we’ve ever done;
2. the footnote crossword, which was exactly the kind of eulogy David Foster Wallace would have loved;
3. last week’s marriage crossword, which was just brilliant.

There are probably others worthy of the pantheon. Undoubtedly, the Muralidaran/nong’s rumba/red-handed crossword would have been another, yet that was released before this blog had begun and we have no record of its brilliance.

I would move to also include The Simpsons crossword into the pantheon, but I’m biased because I love the show so much.

What do you think? Is The Simpsons crossword worthy? Are there others that spring to mind?

And does anyone know if there’s been a pangrammatic crossword where every letter of the alphabet has been included on the grid? I’d love to see one and would definitely consider it worthy of the pantheon simply because of the degree of difficulty involved.