Araucaria Cryptic Crosswords

Araucaria (aka John Graham) was the best-known and best-loved of all British crossword constructors. His crosswords appeared regularly in The Guardian and the Financial Times, and baffled and entertained crossword enthusiasts for more than forty years.

Botanically, of course, the araucaria is a tree familiarly known as the monkey-puzzle tree. For his Financial Times crosswords, John used the pseudonym Cinephile. Why Cinephile? Well, CINEPHILE is an anagram of CHILE PINE, another name for the araucaria.

What you will find here is a small selection of Araucaria crosswords that have previously appeared in the subscription crossword monthly, 1 Across. These are all specialized crosswords, considerably more demanding than the standard daily newspaper crossword, and are definitely not for novices or the faint-hearted. But each presents a thoroughly enjoyable challenge for the crossword enthusiast, who can relish here all of Araucaria's famous wit and erudition.