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  • The Cryptic Crosswords:

Puzzles

Published

18th April 2024

Modified

14th May 2025

A series of mostly cryptic-style crossword puzzles made for the Scottish physics teaching community during the reign of the Magic Physics Pixies, creators of the original sptr.net website, home for a while to the 10,000 resources made by, and shared within that community.

The Cryptic Crosswords:

No.1 | solution

No.3 | solution

No.4 | solution

No.5 | solution

No.6 | solution

No.7 | solution

No.8 | solution

No.9 | solution

No.10 | solution

No.11 | solution

No.12 (Summer 2018) | solution 

Of the 11 crossword1 puzzles made during that reign, only two people ever completed them; the clues were tricksy, physicsy, in-joky and plain obscure, the product of my head. John Lovell is the last living champion solver of the Pixie Puzzles. The other person was my mother, Audrey (née Bourne), who left us in 2020. She solved the clues using sheer logic and a decent general knowledge earned through travel, reading and experience. That, and a mule-like stubbornness when faced with a challenge.

  • © Nick Hood
  • Puzzles made with Crossword Express

Footnotes

  1. Pixie Puzzle No. 2 was a word search for Sean.↩︎

  • © Copyright 2025 Nick Hood