Clued-up boyfriend proposes to sweetheart in cryptic crossword
CROSSWORD addict Edward Fraser proposed to his girlfriend by setting a series of cryptic clues for her, with the last one spelling out “Will you marry me?”.
Edward, 30, spent three months crafting the clues which popped the question to girlfriend Rachael Herman.
He then created a cryptic crossword in his local paper, which included a string of personal titbits about her.
One clue was “The Black Prince begins untangling odes and seeks her final response to 27 Across” – which has the answer “Edward does ask R”.
And the clue to 27 across was “It’s a question of love”, with the answer “Will you marry me?”.
Agonised
Luckily, Rachael said yes and the couple now hope it means they will never have a cross word.
Researcher Edward said: “I agonised over it for quite a while. I wanted to make it special because she is special. I was trying to think of really cool clues.”
Rachael, 28, sat down to do her weekly crossword on their sevenyear anniversary of their relationship unaware of what was in store. “I had no idea it was coming, it was such a lovely surprise,” the teacher said.
“Because we always do the crosswords together and he was playing along with me, it was just like normal, so it was really convincing. I thought in my head, ‘Does that mean will you marry Question is in the answer...Edward’s crossword and his ring for Rachael me?’. And then the heart was pounding because I thought, ‘Was this for me?’
“But I didn’t say anything because I just wanted to be sure. A bit of me kind of wanted to play Edward at his own game as well and let him sweat it out.”
Once Rachael had written most of the answers, Edward guided her to the last clue, confirming the crossword was made for her.
“I looked at it and at that point I knew it was definitely for me,” she said.
“I played dumb a little bit, like ‘Ooh, I wonder what that is’,” Rachael admitted. “But after that I just couldn’t concentrate any more, so I decided to write the answer down.”
Edward even had the ring ready for Rachael to put on her finger, to which she replied with “YES”.
The bride-to-be added: “This was definitely the perfect way to do it as I am quite a private person and it was meaningful, informal and intimate. I love a cryptic crossword.”
The couple, from Norwich, who met in 2008 working at a sports bar, will marry next August.
But Edward has an apology for the paper’s other crossword enthusiasts. “All the other people with the letters beginning with R will be gutted,” he said.