The Listener Crossword

Home Puzzles Solving Setting Background

Welcome to the website for the Listener Crossword, the world’s oldest regular “thematic” crossword puzzle. It is published each Saturday in The Times (UK) newspaper and is available online by subscription to The Times website, along with all of The Times’ crosswords.

Information about the crossword is arranged under the following headings:

Puzzles

— Information about all of the crosswords in the Listener series, from the current year back to the first puzzle in 1930.

Solving

— How to solve the Listener crossword, how to submit an entry, how to select an alternative prize if you win and don’t want the default book, and more.

Setting

— Lists of all the people who have set a Listener crossword and what we know about them. Also, what you need to know for setting a Listener crossword and submitting it to the editors for consideration.

Background

— The history of the Listener crossword and its community, including the annual statistics, the dinner and the awards for solvers and setters.