Never knowingly undersolved
For some reason I found this unusually hard for a Dac, but the trademark qualities are still all there — just as good as ever. Perhaps it was because there seemed to be slightly fewer clues than normal involving anagrams. I don’t know.
Definitions underlined.
Pan is a regular in the Quiptic slot, but this is his (?) third appearance on the Cryptic sde. As on previous occasions, many (perhaps most) of the clues were of Quiptic standard, … Read more >>
Base – a new setter enters the fold. Preamble: Half of the 32 clues are normal. Two characters (to be written below the grid) together connect the 4 unclued perimeter entries and … Read more >>
We’re not giving anything away in the preamble when we state that there was an Olympian theme to the puzzle today. We may be missing something but the chosen Olympians seem to … Read more >>
Quick blog today, sorry!
Thanks to Sleuth – an enjoyable crossword; tricky enough in some places to give me pause. Definitions are underlined in the clues. Across 9 Plain background – it disappeared from Berlin leader’s place? (9) … Read more >>
Moley always produces a good Quiptic for us, but there were one or two here which didn’t quite work for me. Abbreviations cd cryptic definition dd double definition (xxxx)* … Read more >>
Not my cup of tea, but I’m sure others will have enjoyed it. Help on a couple, please. I’m not keen on these types of puzzles: an unhelpful … Read more >>
The puzzle may be found at https://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/cryptic/27023.
Sixteen days to go in the mud-slinging gutter-trawling (least-un)popularity contest that is the US election, and both Trump and Clinton references abound in this week’s Cyclops…hopefully he’ll have some closer-to-home Brexit machinations and … Read more >>
Good stuff from Hypnos. Over the last few months there has been discussion on whether the IoS’s reputation for gentle puzzles still holds true. Here we have gentle and tricky in the same puzzle. Thanks Hypnos.
Apologies for the delay, not sure what I did with the earlier write up.
Blogging these puzzles, having to explain every little detail, makes me appreciate AZED more and more. I even look forward to the sometimes dry as dust surfaces as a break from the never-ending quest for inventiveness one gets in modern cryptic puzzles. Plus I never get tired of looking stuff up in Chambers, which must make me look more than a little sad I know. Thank you AZED.
With Autumn in full swing an offering from Morph I felt there was a good variation in clue types in today’s crossword and many that made me chuckle. Always a good sign. Many short clues, … Read more >>
The preamble tells us that we are going to be introduced to six fictional characters who, engaged in a common endeavour, are temporarily CHANGING ROLES. What connection will there be between these roles and the cell that is to be left blank?