A bride-to-be’s answer to a marriage proposal made through a British national newspaper crossword proved almost as cryptic as the clues themselves.

Matthew Dick, a 38-year-old lawyer, arranged for the Times of London crossword to contain hidden messages to his girlfriend of two-and-a half-years, Delyth Hughes, on her birthday.

The clues included “Pretty Welsh girl widely thought not to be all there” with the six-letter answer Delyth and “‘Will you marry me’, say, that’s forward also rude!”, to which the eight-letter answer was proposal. Another clue read “Draw up a set of biblical books, ending in Matthew”, while other answers to clues included “birthday” and “wishes”.

But when presented with the deciphered clues during the couple’s holiday in Cornwall, Hughes first response was “No”, followed by a “Yes”.

Dick, a crossword enthusiast, told the Times: “I underlined ‘Matthew’ in the bottom corner and underlined ‘Will you marry me’ in the clue and reached into my pocket to reveal the ring.

“She looked so surprised and didn’t say anything for about 30 seconds, before then saying ‘No’, which she thought was hilarious. But she did then say ‘Yes’ and I had to tell her this was the real Times crossword, not something I had printed out myself.”

Marketing executive Hughes, 39, said: “I was dumbfounded that he’d gone to such lengths. It was also bloody typical as he’s a smart-arse at the best of times. I was getting a bit teary and emotional, even if I did joke that I wouldn’t marry him.”

Crossword editor Richard Rogan, who was contacted by Dick on Twitter, said he believed it was the first time the paper had included a proposal in the puzzle, adding: “We won’t be doing it again”.