September 13th, 2024Daylesford’s Arlo has a passion for puzzles
While most are content to pit their wits against the latest Wordle or tackle the crossword in their local newspaper, not so Daylesford’s Arlo Schwarz Deakin.
The year 11 student at Daylesford College has gone a step further, not only solving but also creating original crossword puzzles for others to solve.
Also a keen budding musician who plays bass and double bass with a particular appreciation for jazz, Arlo says his recent new obsession for setting crossword puzzles grew out of trying to keep boredom at bay.
“I’ve been heading to Castlemaine in the afternoons because my sister does the circus over there and my grandmother is there. My grandmother gets The Age in paper form and so it’s something to do to pass the time waiting for my sister to finish her class.
“My dad and my grandmother were always really good at getting the cryptic ones. The cryptics are a bit more mathematical in a sense. They’re kind of like equations and I’ve always been interested in things like that, which test your brain a bit.
“My auntie came from Spain and she’s very good at them too. She says it’s the most fun waste of time and I think that’s kind of the beauty of them, the fact that they’re pointless and a waste of time but somehow can still be fulfilling.”
In moving on to actually devising crosswords himself, Arlo was also much inspired by the work of word-umpire and anagram-meister ABC Radio’s David Astle.
Astle is well known for his work as The Dictionary Guy on SBS’s Letters and Numbers and as creator of his DA crosswords in Friday’s Age.
“I was inspired by David Astle and his clue construction, whilst around my grandmother’s kitchen table. I make quicks and cryptics so I can cover a range of puzzle-solving skill sets,” Arlo says.
“I can never do any David Astle clues because they’re just too outlandish but I’ve got a book by him.
“I’ve sent a few that I’ve done off to him…but I haven’t heard back what he thinks of them yet.”
Devising devious clues for cryptic crosswords is especially satisfying for the talented local wordsmith, as is sourcing lesser-used and unusual words in the lexicon – like “kibosh” for example.
“Recently I’ve made some crosswords for (English teacher) Amanda DeClifford to put into Words in Winter as well as other school-related publications,” Arlo says.
“I’m planning to make a little zine myself. We’ve got the printers here at school so I can print as much as I want and just put them around the place.
“Clueing is the hardest part. I immediately spent my budget on the software that they use and it’s pretty incredible. You can fill the grid pretty easily if you’ve got a few cool words you’ve thought of.
“That’s another good thing about them, you extend your vocabulary a lot.”
Arlo is now keen to find a remunerative outlet for his crosswords.
He says any media outlets out there that may be in need of a good crossword offering for their readers or subscribers are more than welcome to get in contact with him and see if some mutually beneficial arrangement might be found.
“Anyone who wants to publish them regularly, that would be cool. I think my rates will be very reasonable,” he says.
“I really should try to get some people to try and publish them. I’m really just making them now for fun. I’ve made a few.
“I’m not sure how many other people are setting crosswords and David Astle’s going to have to retire at some point.”
Those who think they may be able to offer Arlo an outlet for his talents can get in contact at arloautumnus@gmail.com
Words & Image: Eve Lamb
