Andrew

I started off on Everyman in The Observer, and began solving Azed while I was a student at Cambridge (reading maths) shortly after it started. I do the Guardian puzzle most days and others sporadically. In real life I work as a software developer (still in Cambridge), and for non-crossword recreation play the piano and am involved in amateur theatre.

Guardian 29,890 – Ramsay

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A new setter, I believe, to (almost) end the year on (1 across is appropriate). It took me a while to get on the right wavelength, and there were a few clues where I got the answer from the definition but struggled to parse the wordplay. There were some easier clues too, with some helpful anagrams, so a very promising debut.

Thanks and welcome to Ramsay

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Gemelo 16

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I’m still finding it hard to get on Gemelo’s wavelength, though in retrospect there’s nothing to cause too much difficulty here, apart from some unfamiliar words (which are part of the fun of these puzzles, so no complaints there). Thanks to Gemelo for the challenge.

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Guardian 29,861 – Brendan

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Brendan invariably provides a theme, and here it’s in clues, with every single one referring to university activities in one way or another. There’s a little bit of repetition of some elements, but otherwise a typically entertaining puzzle. Thanks to Brendan.

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Guardian 29,852 – Paul

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Another tricky one from Paul, where I had to look up a couple of unfamiliar references. I nearly gave up hope of explaining 15 across, but it came to me just in time. Thanks to Paul for the fun.

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Gemelo 11

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I continue to find Gemelo quite a challenge, and I think this was one of the hardest yet, with several clues taking me a while to parse even after I was confident of … Read more >>