Never knowingly undersolved
Andrew A quickly-solved but enjoyable puzzle from Crucible today… …helped by an obvious, and eclectic, musical theme. Thanks to Crucible. Across 9. ORCHESTRA Box in occasional Scottish players (9)CHEST (box) in ORRA (Scots … Read more >>
My first challenge was to find the puzzle, which wasn’t available on the Guardian website. Luckily I managed to track down the PDF version. I made a slow start initially, but getting the … Read more >>
Wrong Number is one of the classic specials, dating back at least to Ximemes. You can see the Slip for an early (1968) example here. The last Azed example was as long ago … Read more >>
Another Monday, another Bank Holiday, another Vulcan puzzle. This was almost a write-in for me, with only the unknown name of a plant briefly holding me up. Thanks to Vulcan. Across 1 … Read more >>
I found this quite easy for a Friday, with some rather obvious clues. A pleasant diversion, though: thanks to Brummie. We have a theme of various cakes and puddings: I can see APPLE-PIE, … Read more >>
A good week for fans of Anto, who also set Monday’s Quiptic, which as far as I remember was rather harder than this puzzle Thanks to Anto. Across 1 RAP SHEET Spare … Read more >>
Picaroon and my blogging schedule have been coinciding a lot lately, but I have no complaints about that. This was another fine piece of work: rather more difficult to get started on than … Read more >>
A good solid puzzle from Brummie this morning. There are a couple of names that may be unfamiliar to some, but the clues are helpful. Thanks to Brummie. This setter’s puzzles almost always … Read more >>
As the Azed series moves into its second half-century, yet another high-quality puzzle. Thanks to Azed Across 1 BRACKISH Mistake imbibing selection of wine, barely drinkable (8)RACK (where wine may be stored) … Read more >>
A very nice Monday puzzle from Matilda. Quite heavy on anagrams of various kinds, but there’s nothing wrong with that in a puzzle that aims to be on the easy side. Thanks to … Read more >>
I can save myself some time by repeating the opening of my blog from last week: “Another great puzzle from Picaroon. Not easy, with some tricky constructions and devious definitions, but well worth … Read more >>
Another great puzzle from Picaroon. Not easy, with some tricky constructions and devious definitions, but well worth the effort and satisfying to finish. Thanks to Picaroon. Across 1 DISCOMBOBULATE Throw party, performing … Read more >>
A lot of straightforward clues here, making this a very quick solve for me. Thanks to Qaos. It took me rather longer to identify the theme, which is the DISCWORLD novels of Terry … Read more >>
Although the instructions seemed clear, it took me a while to realise that the “thematic word” to be paired with the undefined answers was not the same every time. I think it was … Read more >>
A couple of slightly obscure words in this puzzle, but helpfully clued so they didn’t prevent me getting through it quite quickly. Thanks to Brummie. It helped that I spotted the theme early … Read more >>