LONDON — It’s a case of two down: the aisle.

A crossword-loving British lawyer hid a marriage proposal in The Times newspaper’s daily puzzle. Matthew Dick thought of the cryptic way of popping the question to girlfriend Delyth Hughes and persuaded the newspaper to agree.

Tuesday’s Times crossword opened with one across: “Pretty Welsh girl widely thought not to be all there.” The answer: Delyth.

Other clues included “’Will you marry me,’ say, that’s forward also rude.” The answer was proposal.

Dick, 38, told Wednesday’s edition of the newspaper that he showed Hughes the crossword at breakfast, with some key words underlined, then “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,” he said. “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.”

Hughes says she 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,” she said. “I’ve heard all the engagement stories but this one trumps them all. It’s so special and such a geeky way of doing it.”

Times crossword editor Richard Rogan said he believed this was the first time the newspaper had included a proposal in a puzzle. He said it was “a one-off” that wouldn’t be repeated.