First Cross Word In 24 Years

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30428, 30 April 1964, Page 1

First Cross Word In 24 Years

The author of the cryptic clue to the “New Zealand Listener’s” crossword puzzle which so angered some of Timaru’s leading citizens is unrepentant.

“Timaru” was the answer to an anagram contained in the fourth, fifth and sixth words of the clue “you may find it a rum sort of city." The author of the crossword puzzle—and of every crossword puzzle which has appeared in the “New Zealand Listener" for the last 24 years—is Mrs Ruth Hendry wife of a Christchurch architect Yesterday she sent off this letter to Sir Basil Arthur, her chief critic:

“As the perpetrator of the •Listener' crossword puzzles, including that in the issue of Aoril 24 containing the clue which caused such surprise and indignation to you as member of Parliament for Timaru. I am writing to express my regret that according to a report in The Press’ today vou found the clue in question ‘disrespectful. damaging and deroga-

tory’ and that you felt you had ‘every right to take exception to it’; that according to Mr A. S. Abernethy, South Canterbury public relations officer ‘lt was a most careless use of language and quite inexcusable,’ and ‘offensive’; and that according to Mr Thomson as Mayor of Timaru *we in Timaru take rather a dim view of being sorted out as a means to show up a writer's peculiar sense of humour.' Love, War, Crosswords

“I may be wrong but 1 should imagine that none of those citizens of Timaru who took exception to the clue •you may find it a rum sort of city’ are cryptic crossword puzzle addicts or they would have realised that, as in- love and war. in crosswords all is fair, but most emphatically no offence is meant.

“Nor, 1 am happy to say, is offence often taken, otherwise some of the English newspapers publishing crosswords by world-famous com oilers would no doubt he involved not infrequently in libel actions.

“May I assure you that 1 have a great and long-stand-ing love of Timaru. Both

sides of my family have deep roots in Timaru and year after year we spent long and very happy holidays there during my childhood. “Since I have grown up 1 have also returned on many occasions and hope to do so on many more.” U Needed Mrs Hendry explained to ‘The Press” how she came to use the anagram. ‘The whole thing arose,” she said, “because a word had to end in u. Timaru was the only one I could find and when I had that 1 had to invent a clue. It had to be something better than' *a seaside city on the east coast of the South Island’.”

Mrs Hendry said the only complaints she had had in 24 years were about an occasional error or misprintnever before on the grounds of taste or hurt feelings. Compiling a crossword puzzle takes anything from three hours to three evenings. and Mrs Hendry tries not to use any clues that are too obscure or out of the way. Her aids are'a dictionary, a tattered book of quotajtions (used for verification, i not ideas), poetry antholo-

gies, a concordance, and a book of New Zealand place names.

She is a crossword puzzle addict herself, and tackles any she can lay her hands on. “It’s a lot of fun,” said Mrs Henry, “and if there’s a play on words or a double meaning, or even an unfair construction, that’s all the better.”