Dry Januaries come and go, but alcohol is involved in almost all cryptic crosswords: here’s how to decode references to pubs, wine, beer and even abstention

Our collection of the cream of the cryptic clues features an eclectic mix of the great and good’s body parts

A special puzzle, an upcoming event and a Q&A with the editor of crossword magazine 1 Across

Crosswords offer an unpalatable answer to what lies ahead ...

A collection of seasonal references, not all of them celebratory, in the best of the cryptic clues

Crossword puzzles often use abbreviations from the periodic table to create parts of clues

When life is very, very frightening, crosswords are there to reflect it – just open your eyes

The language and characters of Roald Dahl in the pick of the best of the cryptic clues

Two unusual puzzles to start the week, one of which you may have helped to compile

A crossword clue accidentally anticipates an international egg incident in our pick of the best of the broadsheets’ cryptic clues

The apparent mystery of the great Olympic theme puzzles that never appeared

An avant-garde artwork containing a crossword has been filled in – is the result art too? And where else can you find a puzzle hanging in a gallery?

While some recent clues were derived from current events, others preferred to look back ...

In a sister feature to our Meet the Setter series, we find out which words are used in cryptic crossword clues to indicate each of the letters of the alphabet.

A look at some of the latest examples of the continuing effects of Brexit on the crossword world

The case for the defence in a purely hypothetical situation where an avant-garde artwork containing a crossword has been written on

Some words to describe new things and some new words to avoid describing old things, in the pick of the broadsheets’ cryptic clues

A warning: when countries engage in cultural wars, even crosswords suffer