Crossword roundup: the words of 2023 | Crosswords

In the sample clues below, the links take you to explainers from our beginners series. The setter’s name often links to an interview with him or her, in case you feel like getting to know these people better.

For as long as I can remember, we’ve had a look at various dictionaries’ word of the year lists and more recently we’ve investigated whether the words in question pass the ultimate test: has a crossword setter decided that they’re familiar enough that a solver has a decent chance of entering them in a puzzle?

We’re looking at 2023’s now: a little later than usual, admittedly, but the alternative would be to skip a year. Unthinkable.

Oxford went with “rizz” (charisma of a kind) with runners-up “situationship”, “Swiftie” and, in its AI sense, “prompt”. None – but do of course correct me if you know otherwise – has been used in a crossword. “Swiftie” and “prompt” probably will make their debuts; the other two might if a setter felt like being mildly irritating.

Merriam-Webster’s winner, “authentic”, has been in puzzles since they began. Of that dictionary’s newer words and senses, “Egot” (the amassing of an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony) featured just the other day in an Independent clue from Tees …

14a Bighead having grand slam of 25, 21D, 10 & 6 first? (7)
[ wordplay: reference to awards in other clues + IST (‘first’) ]
[ definition: bighead ]

… albeit as a mini-theme (Gila also used the Egot as a major theme in a 2021 Inquisitor). Some setters have embraced Elon Musk’s replacement name for Twitter as a fresh way of cluing X, but I detect and share a slight fear that the name may switch back at any moment leaving the clues looking odd or dated. Also from Merriam-Webster, a word which appears in the newspapers and not solely (like “rizz”) in subcultures, and which was clued in these pages by Boatman as far back as 2022 (and mentioned in 2019’s lists):

32a Video deception by leaders in dubiously elected executive presidencies fooling all, kindling enmity (8)
[ wordplay: first letters of (‘leaders in’) DUBIOUSLY ELECTED EXECUTIVE PRESIDENCIES FOOLING ALL KINDLING ENMITY ]
[ definition: video deception ]

DEEPFAKE, then.

And from Collins’ list, we see the same syndrome. “Canon event” (a red-letter day) and “deinfluencing” (using social media to dissuade followers) are nowhere to be seen in puzzles, as solvers would be baffled. Present and correct, though, is “Ulez”, as used by a Telegraph setter …

22a City mayor supporting ULEZ chasing Vauxhall car? (9)
[ wordplay: name of ULEZ-supporting mayor, after (‘chasing’) type of Vauxhall ]
[ KHAN after ASTRA ]
[ definition: city ]

… en route to ASTRAKHAN. Again, then: the words that are used in the paper and in conversation are the ones that setters expect us to know. The try-hard coinages remain an irritation, although I would smile if 2024’s lists included “trendbait”, as coined by Rebecca Jennings:

The Shipping Forecast Puzzle Book by Alan Connor, which is partly but not predominantly cryptic, can be ordered from the Guardian Bookshop