CCCWC is the monthly cryptic clue-writing competition open to all members of The Crossword Centre mailing list on Google Groups. For more information about joining the competition, visit the Login and Registration Help page.

Members enter a cryptic clue to a word set each month by the organisers, and then vote to decide the best clue. There is a monthly prize for the winning clue-writer and an Annual Honours competition for the highest scoring clue-writer across 12 competitions. (We welcome competitors from around the world, but high postage costs mean we’re unable to send prizes to addresses outside the UK). There’s more information about how the competitions and this website work on the Competition Help page.

If you’re a budding crossword setter or you just enjoy cryptic crosswords, the competition is a great opportunity to test your skills on people who share your passion. Competitors often provide comments along with their votes as to why a particular clue is favoured or otherwise.

The competition has been running via email since 1998, and moved to this site in 2008. Results of all past online competitions are available from the Results pages list, where you can also find links to previous years’ competition results at the Crossword Centre.

The Crossword Centre is the top site for anyone interested in cryptic crosswords. The site publishes regular competition and other puzzles, featuring the work of some of today’s best setters. Its message board is always open for discussion of anything crossword related.

The Azed Slip Archive contains thousands of the best cryptic clues from 75 years of the Observer’s Azed and Ximenes Clue-Writing Competitions. Azed sets the highest standards of excellence in clue-writing, and the competition’s lists include many of the best clue-writers and crossword setters of their generation. If you’re entering the competition on this site, you can browse the Archive for inspiration.

You can contact the competition organisers and the website administrators by email at

This site and The Crossword Centre are run by and for crossword enthusiasts. We want you to enjoy them as much as we do. So the competition is free to enter, we keep your details secure, we don’t share them with anyone else, and we don’t send you emails you haven’t subscribed to.

We don’t ask you to sign up to terms and conditions, but when you use this site it’s expected that you agree to some principles of fair use, set out on the Login and Registration Help page.

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