It's just a way of thinking, and is very learnable if you want to. If you have C1 english those clues don't require any language ability you don't have, but you

It's just a way of thinking, and is very learnable if you want to. If you have C1 english those clues don't require any language ability you don't have, but you do need familiarity with the rules and idioms of crossword clues. When I first attempted cryptic crosswords it would take me hours to solve a single clue. Now I've been solving them for years and the ones in the article took seconds. I can highly recommend it. It's a great pastime.