I've kick started my Times crossword habit again...again recently. It's a funny thing, my relationship with the old TC. It one of those disciplines, like playing a musical instrument or doing a headstand, that requires constant practice. And yet despite knowing this, I always let it slip. So months elapse between crossword events, and then I'm up against it.
The problem with crossword hiatuses, for you non-crossword types out there, is that the brain softens and runs to mental fat when you don't practice. This makes the reintroduction of cryptic crosswords to your routine a demanding, and initially unrewarding, undertaking. Your brain, which is programmed by evolution to make short mental leaps betwixt logic stepping stones, will not take to cryptic, lateral thinking. It's like learning to touch your toes: initially the hamstrings will complain.
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