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(4,4,3).”
    Wyman entered the words “Take-over bid” and took a sip of his coffee. His in-tray contained a large pile of documents, including half a dozen East German newspapers. These newspapers were seldom informative, but reading them was part of Wyman’s weekly chores. He looked at them in distaste and lit a cigarette.
    â€œA master craftsman who misses out on his reading.”
    He inhaled a deep puff of smoke, exhaled it, and wrote “Skipper” under two down. He wondered if there was money to be made from compiling crosswords. At this stage, he reflected, he must consider anything. Both his employers had now dismissed him, and if the only way he could earn a living was to be by writing enigmatic statements like A fruit drink very quietly brought in , then so it would have to be.
    Ten across was “apple”. He wrote down this solution and picked up the first newspaper from his in-tray. It was the Berliner Zeitung am Abend , one of the DDR’s national dailies. He leafed through it casually, pausing only to glance at an item about the opening of a new electricity station in Leipzig. Having done his duty, Wyman scrawled his signature on the top of the front page to indicate that he had read the paper. He then put it in his out-tray. Fourteen across, he noted, was American fuel product of practical value . This could be a tricky one.
    The DDR has a number of different national newspapers, although they all contain the same news and opinions. This reflects the peculiar nature of East German politics. East Germany calls itself the German Democratic Republic, and it is proud that since its creation it has always housed several supposedly independent political parties. In theory, each party is represented by its own newspaper. In fact, because most of the smaller parties in the DDR are directly controlled by the Socialist Unity Party of Germany, the SED, all the newspapers say the same thing. The only differences are those of style.
    The DDR’s national newspapers seldom talk about any of the country’s economic or social problems. Crime, food shortages and environmental problems are never discussed. Only the provincial newspapers mention such issues, which is probably why their export to the West is forbidden by the East German government. Hence, national newspapers were of little use to Wyman, since all that he was interested in would be found in the provincials.
    Not that the provincials especially interested him either. Whatever one’s feelings are on the ethics of state-controlled publications, it is fairly clear that the results in East Germany are excruciatingly dull. Wyman could only derive amusement from the pathetic efforts of the East German journalists to endear themselves to their political masters.
    His favourite example came from the August 1980 issue of the dog-lovers’ magazine, Der Hund . In most countries, dog breeding is not a political occupation. East Germany is an exception. Der Hund’ s editorial began as follows: “The decisions of the IX Parteitag of the SED… are the guide of conduct for all our members…” Wyman had pinned this remarkable leader column to his wall.
    â€œTwenty-three across: One badly treated, but given a repeat performance.”
    Wyman ran his pen through what little hair remained on his head and released a small cloud of dandruff.
    â€œOf course,” he muttered, and wrote down “Iterated”. He ground out his cigarette in the ashtray and pulled out another newspaper. This was the Thüringer Neueste Nachrichten , a provincial organ of the National Democratic Party.
    Wyman read the first two pages and saw nothing of interest. He turned to page three and read the heading “Erfurt man dies after shooting incident”. The piece ran as follows:
On the night of May 5, Josef Grünbaum was shot by police in a café in Erfurt. Captain Georg Mach and three officers of the Volkspolizei tried to