Never knowingly undersolved
Nutmeg started setting for the Guardian Cryptic a while ago and her puzzles there have been well-received. But I’m glad she’s still doing the Quiptic, because she generally manages to set an accessible … Read more >>
Plenty of cryptic defs and anagrams from Rufus as usual, but only a few double defs. My favourites were 24ac and 2dn.
A puzzle with some imaginative clues — I think 4d gets my vote for best initially-deceptive wordplay, though that perhaps depends on what team you support. 19d also gets a mention. Across 7 … Read more >>
This seemed to be around the middle of the difficulty range for Beelzebub, with lots of interesting new terms to pick up, and hopefully remember for future reference. I’ve the tiniest of queries … Read more >>
It looks like it’s over a year since I last blogged a Commoner puzzle. This one seemed eminently manageable, taking less time to finish than the rather 8 down pint of Best I … Read more >>
Lorraine: Good morning one and all. I enjoyed this weeks offering until I got to the South West corner; I needed help with 15dn, 16dn and 24ac. Thanks Nick, to the rescue once again. … Read more >>
A plain competition Azed this week. I found this harder than most Azeds that I have blogged recently and I enjoyed solving it. I can usually get at least half the … Read more >>
When I know I am going to blog a puzzle I try to make some notes as I solve it, roughing out the wordplay etc. So it might take a bit longer than usual. … Read more >>
‘PACEMAKER’ has two very different connotations. There’s the one trailblazing for the fit, and there’s the one that gives help to the less healthy. Will either of those meanings describe this puzzle?
Good fun from Tramp, one of my favourite setters.
A fairly easy one from Peto, restoring some confidence after the drubbing from Gaff earlier this week. Steady progress for most part, with the NW quadrant providing some resistance.
Phi has given us an interesting puzzle today The first two across entries (9 and 10 across) read as THIRD POLICEMAN. A bit of research shows that this is the title … Read more >>
I found this pretty tricky, despite…
Monk is always good. There are some excellent clues here and one or two where I’d be grateful for a little explanation. We differ over the matter of CDs, but Monk isn’t the only setter who uses them. However, if there were no well-known setters who dislike them I’d keep quiet.
Surprise surprise — I’ve seen the Nina, or at any rate as much of it as I’m likely to see: look at the horizontal unchecked letters in the middle followed by the vertical unchecked letters in the middle, but quite where the climax of it all is I can’t see.
Definitions in italics.
I haven’t blogged a Brendan puzzle for a while, so it was a pleasant surprise to get this one. I spotted the theme (see below) early on, which was very familiar to me … Read more >>