Nuala Considine

Nuala Considine (10 October 1927 – 24 July 2018) was an Irish woman considered to be the world's most prolific crossword compiler. She produced crossword puzzles for newspapers and magazines across Europe and the United States, including The Irish Times, The Telegraph, The Spectator, The Financial Times, Woman's Realm, The Washington Post and New Scientist. Her first crossword was published when she was 18, and she continued to produce them by hand until shortly before her death, aged 90. She used the noms de plume Excalibur and Alaun to create cryptic puzzles with names such as The Toughie and The Stinker.