89 comments on “RIP Nutmeg”

  4. I only met Margaret once, at a gathering of FT & Guardian compilers in Manchester a few years ago, and she was lovely. She was I thought a wonderfully versatile compiler who was comfortable at varying levels of difficulty – always a hallmark of quality. Rest in Peace.

  6. Very sorry to hear this sad news. Nutmeg was always a setter who made you feel you were in safe hands.
    I think she confessed to surreptitiously jotting down at least one clue idea out of the blue during a church sermon – that still makes me smile.

  7. Like baerchen @4, I, too, met Margaret only once (on a different occasion) and I agree with him on all counts. Rest in Peace, Margaret x

  8. Oh gosh. That is terribly sad news. The last few months has been a bad run. I was a huge fan of Nutmeg and her puzzles. One setter name that was guaranteed to lift the spirits. She will be sorely missed. Condolences to her loved ones and friends.

  9. Sad news. Margaret was a top-notch compiler and a really nice person whom I met once or twice at Times lunches. I am sure we will all miss her elegant puzzles. Condolences to her family and friends.

  10. Sad news. Always enjoyed her puzzles, even when they left be baffled, which I sometimes think is half the pleasure.

    My condolonces to her friends and family.

  11. So sorry to hear this. I worked with Margaret at the Uni and only found about Nutmeg a few years ago when meeting her on the bus.
    Condolences to her friends and family.

  13. I’m very sorry to hear this news. Nutmeg is one of my favourite setters. Thanks for all the wonderful puzzles.

  15. Very sad. It seems a bit selfish to say that I’ll miss her because she was in my top three favourite setters (top two, as it has been so long since we saw Arachne over here).

  17. Very sad news. I always enjoyed Nutmeg’s Guardian and Inquisitor puzzles and appreciated the trouble she took over the precision and quality of what she produced.

    RIP Nutmeg. She will be missed.

  18. So sad to read this – I always smiled in anticipation when presented with one of her puzzles. Thank you, and RIP, Nutmeg.

  19. Judygs@18 – just my thoughts – I always smiled when I saw her name, knowing there was wit and sparkle ahead.

  20. What sad news — she was the master of the silky smooth surface and was always on my “must do” list. I hope her loved ones can take some some comfort from all the praise she earned.

  23. This is sad news indeed. One of my favourites, too. Witty and elegant, always such a pleasure to find she’s the setter!

  27. Terribly sad news. I met Margaret a few times. Like all the best people, she was so unassuming. A lovely woman and a splendid compiler. She will be sorely missed. RIP Nutmeg.

  31. Oh no! What tragic news – especially coming so soon after we learnt of Roger Squires’ passing.

    Nutmeg was one of the best and I always enjoyed tackling her puzzles – often tricky but always utterly fair with never a dubious clue to be met with. She will be sorely missed.

    R.I.P. Margaret.

  32. Very sad news. I loved Nutmeg’s puzzles, she was one of the best.
    A terrible loss to the crossword community.

  33. I ran out of superlatives in my comments on Nutmeg’s puzzles and will genuinely miss seeing her byline when I open the crossword page. She was, without doubt, one of the very best compilers of modern times.

  34. So sad especially as we do not hear from Arachne these days. Great setter. Will miss you lots as Duke Ellington used to say at the end of his concerts. RIP R

  35. I’ve always savoured a bit of Nutmeg. An exceptional setter with a lovely finesse to her puzzles.
    Thanks for all the fun.

  36. Very sad to hear this – always a reliably enjoyable setter. As the intro to her Meet the Setter says: she is known for her smooth, elegant surface readings and her persistent fair play.

    RIP.

  37. Very sad news. Nutmeg was such an elegant setter – all her puzzles were such a pleasure to solve. Many thanks and RIP

  40. Very sad news – one of the finest setters for the reasons set out in comments above. Met her on a small number of occasions. Condolences to her friends and family/

  42. It is difficult to find a way to express the deep sadness for a person you have never met yet felt you knew so well.
    Nutmeg in her ‘Meet the Setter’ interview spoke more than once about the importance and pleasure derived from solving together and that sentiment makes her passing even more poignant today.

    She was by far the favourite setter for me and my good friend Graham White who also passed away two years ago.

    He lived in Brighton and I in London but would exchange tens of messages daily in the process of solving together and once a year we would share a holiday on the Isle of Wight, where I find myself as I write this, for the huge pleasure of solving together in real life.

    RIP Graham and our most favourite Spice Lady.

  44. I’ll miss her. I too found myself smiling when I saw her name (living as I do in the so-called Nutmeg State). We’ll all miss Nutmeg.

  45. So sorry to hear this.
    Seeing Nutmeg’s name on the day’s crossword always made me smile too. I knew I was in for an enjoyable tussle!
    Condolences to friends and family.

  46. Very sad news. Sincere condolences to her family and friends. As we say in Ireland – ní bheidh a leithéid ann arís (we will not see her like again). RIP.

  48. No more spice lady. So sorry to hear. Grateful to have had the opportunity to enjoy her work.

  52. She was at home setting whatever the level of the puzzle. A sad loss, and condolences to her loved ones.

  53. I’m very sorry. Nutmeg was one of the first setters I can across when getting into the Guardian crossword, and I always particularly liked her puzzles. You felt you were enjoying the company of someone friendly as well as clever. My condolences to her family.

  57. Well said, Mark L @53. Her puzzles were always a treat and I’m sorry to think we shall see no more of them. RIP.

  61. You knew when you’d been Nutmegged – deftly outmanoevred with wit and skill. Thanks for all the fun and frustration – you will be much missed.

  62. Now that I can access the site I’d like to add my condolences to Nutmeg’s family and friends. I loved her puzzles, there was always a lightness of spirit about them and she was just as welcoming when setting barred puzzles. A setter who understood that the point was to succeed and enjoy the experience on the way. She will be missed.

  63. What sad news, I remember feeling so happy at finally unravelling an entire Nutmeg puzzle for the first time (despite, or maybe because of, the Rolls-Royce surfaces I rarely found her puzzles easy), and one of her clues in particular lives in my head to remind me why crosswords are so enjoyable, thanks for all the pleasure.

  67. My wife Soozi and I have enjoyed Margaret’s Nutmeg cryptic crossword puzzles for many years, giving us many, many hours of pleasure. I am very sorry to hear of her loss and offer my most sincere condolences to her family. Thank you Margaret – may you rest in peace.

  68. My wife and I would like to add our voices to the chorus of sadness.
    Nutmeg will be missed but thanks to the online archive her legacy can be enjoyed by solvers for many years yet.

  71. Since I began solving cryptics a few years ago, Nutmeg’s crosswords have given me a great amount of joy and happiness. To be able to do that for a complete stranger is evidence of a life well-lived in my book. I hope knowing this brings some consolation to her friends and family, who are in my thoughts.

  73. Nutmeg was my favourite setter. Her offerings were always polished and slightly mischievous. Sad news.

  74. So sad to hear this news. Nutmeg was one I always hoped to see when I check for new puzzles. She’ll be sorely missed!

  75. I’m so sorry to hear that Margaret has passed. A lovely, fun and gentle human being, always providing delightful and witty puzzles for her audience. What more could you want?
    With very best wishes, John aka Paul

  76. How glad I am that the site is up and running again so I can both read and echo the many well-deserved tributes to Nutmeg, such a beloved setter.
    It is an interesting relationship that we build with those who set these challenges for us, as both setting and solving are very cerebral activities and usually done alone. In some senses a one-on-one relationship develops. In the case of Nutmeg’s puzzles, I felt she was like a trusted friend and almost like a sister to me, despite the distance between us and the likelihood that we would never meet. I trusted her setting and was always entertained by the sparkle of her surfaces.
    I will miss greatly that little heart flutter I would feel when I saw that the day’s puzzle was a Nutmeg, as I knew without doubt that I would be spending time with one of my favourite people and pitting my wits against hers in the most pleasant fashion.
    I feel personally bereft at the loss of this fine, stylish and clever setter from our crossword family and am sending consoling thoughts to the loved ones she has left behind. I am also grateful for those who cared for Nutmeg during her illness and her last days.
    It makes me sad that Nutmeg might not have ever truly known the full extent of the esteem in which she was held and the gratitude felt by those with whom she shared her sharp intellect and cryptic-setting skills. Perhaps in some mysterious way she does know that now that she is resting in peace.

  77. Hard to follow such a gracious eulogy but I appreciate it has made me realise how, solving crosswords alone, I have a friend in the setter.
    Thanks for all the fun.

  81. Margaret was for many years my only female setter at the Church Times, and there was none better. Her clues sparkled. I was delighted to meet her for the first time at a Times setters lunch, as I had recommended her to The Times’s Richard Browne (not knowing that she was Nutmeg already). She apparently had no relations, but she had many friends in our community. She is missed already.

  85. Oh, such sad news! My heartfelt condolences to all who knew Margaret.

    Comparisons are odious, so I hesitate to say such a thing when there’s a wealth of immensely talented and enjoyable setters out there, but if pushed, Nutmeg was probably my favourite setter. Her sly elegance (or elegant slyness?) never seemed to disappoint.

    The name Nutmeg conjures up tight, smooth surfaces and clever misdirection which were an inspiration to me, and the model for how I want my own clues to turn out on the rare occasions when I turn my hand to it. She will be greatly missed.

  86. Only knew her through her puzzles, which always delighted, never disappointed. Condolences to all who were close to her.

  87. Another great loss to the British crossword scene.. Margaret was a close friend and, along with Sarah Hayes (Arachne) the three of us regularly met in Manchester for lunch and to put the crossword world to right. Margaret accepted my invitation to join the New Statesman compiling team in 2018 and she chose the appropriate pseudonym Mace,

    Her impeccable clues never required any editing and she was a valued checker of some of my puzzles too.

    God bless, Margaret, I shall miss you

  88. What a lovely reflection on Nutmeg from Julie@76 to whom my thanks.
    She was such an elegant craftsperson and, with her name now lost to us so soon after Rufus, it is good that 15² exists as a forum where folk can express thanks for their wonderful entertainment as they take their place in crossword history

  89. I’ve only just seen this, having been away, and gasped out of shock. My condolences to those who knew her. I can see from the comments above that she was a wonderful person. JinA@76 put it beautifully.

    When I returned to doing cryptic crosswords a few years ago, I attempted only Nutmeg’s puzzles, going further and further back in the archive until there was too much scrolling in the app and I was compelled to do the day’s puzzle.

    Since then, seeing her name made me happy. She was like a distant friend I’d never met. I’m extremely sad there will be no more Nutmeg puzzles.

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