About Cryptic Inkling
Why I built it
Cryptic crosswords are brilliant and baffling in equal measure. When I was learning how to do them and got stuck on a clue, I had two options: stare at it harder, or look up the answer and spoil the whole thing. I wanted something in between: a nudge. Which bit is the definition? What kind of clue is it? How are the letters built?
It really came home when I started introducing my daughter to easier cryptics. I kept scribbling arrows and letters on scraps of paper to explain them, and the scribbles ended up being much more useful than the words I was using to explain them.
So I built visual hints that show you, one step at a time, how the wordplay works. The answer only appears when you ask for it, after a few rounds of hints, because the aim isn't to solve clues for you. It's to help you see how they work, so the next one comes a little easier and you get that “aha” instead of that “oh”.
Meet Otto
Otto is the octopus you'll see around the site. He has eight arms, which is very handy for holding a pencil, a rubber, a cup of tea and five more pencils. He sets the Mini, checks your clues when you write one, and has never once looked up an answer. (I have. Otto doesn't judge. OK, he does a bit.)
Where AI comes in
When you paste a clue into the clue solver, an AI model works out the answer and how the clue breaks down, and the site draws that as the step-by-step animation. It's usually right, but not always. If it isn't sure, it says so, and if something looks off you can tell me: I read every report.
The daily clue, the clue library and Otto's Mini Cryptic are written with AI help and checked by hand before they go out. Otto supervises. Loosely.
Who's behind it
Just me, in the UK, and an octopus who takes up more of the desk than you'd think. If you have an idea, a complaint or a clue that beat you, email info@crypticinkling.co.uk. It comes straight to me, not to Otto, who prefers offline communication if he's honest.
Also by me
SitApp is a posture app for Mac, Windows and Linux. It uses your webcam to notice when you slouch and nudges you to sit up, and the camera images never leave your computer. Handy if your crossword habit involves a lot of hunching over. Otto doesn't need it: no spine.