A computer program has achieved a significant milestone by outperforming humans in solving cryptic crosswords. This development echoes the historical victory of IBM's Deep Blue over chess grandmaster Garry Kasparov in 1997. The program, named Darmok, recently solved the final puzzle of The Times's annual cryptic crossword competition. Darmok finished approximately three minutes ahead of the human winner, Liam Hughes, who was the youngest to claim the title. Cryptic crosswords are known for their intricate wordplay and require a unique blend of linguistic and logical skills. The text mentions examples of cryptic crossword clues to illustrate their complexity. Solving these puzzles involves both inspiration and perspiration, with estimated proportions of 45% and 42% respectively. The program's success suggests a remarkable advancement in artificial intelligence's ability to comprehend and process complex linguistic puzzles. This achievement marks another step in the ongoing evolution of AI capabilities. Readers interested in further puzzle content can subscribe to the Cluesletter newsletter.