Andrew – Page 48 – Fifteensquared

Guardian 26,502 – Rufus

Mon February 23, 2015 at 1:26 pmMon February 23, 2015 at 9:14 am by Andrew

Eleven cryptic definitions out of 26 clues? I think that must be a record, even for a Rufus puzzle; and some of them are rather weak, or otherwise satisfactory, as noted below. So, … Read more >>

Guardian 26,500 – Puck

Fri February 20, 2015 at 10:07 amFri February 20, 2015 at 8:49 am by Andrew

Some good Puckish fun today – nicely positioned in difficulty, but with a twist… … as well as some cross-referencing between clues, there’s a theme of clues that are, or use, some of … Read more >>

Guardian 26,493 / Tramp

Thu February 12, 2015 at 12:12 pmThu February 12, 2015 at 8:52 am by Andrew

I found this very hard, and a bit of a slog – I seemed to be staring at a virtually empty grid for ages. Even getting the long answer at 11,2 didn’t make … Read more >>

Azed 2226 – Playfair

Sun February 8, 2015 at 12:01 am by Andrew

I’m glad to see I’m not the only blogger who gets worried when landing on a Playfair puzzle. “I admit to a slight feeling of trepidation when I … noticed that it was … Read more >>

Guardian 26,486 – Shed

Wed February 4, 2015 at 2:25 pmWed February 4, 2015 at 9:29 am by Andrew

A good week for Guardian puzzles continues with a welcome return of Shed after a bit of a gap (his last weekday puzzle was last September). My first one in was 1a, and … Read more >>

Guardian 26,479 – Brendan

Tue January 27, 2015 at 12:25 pmTue January 27, 2015 at 8:42 am by Andrew

A very welcome return by Brendan after an absence of more than six months. I thought this was going to be a walkover after filling in the NW corner very quickly, but things … Read more >>

Guardian 26,472 – Rufus

Mon January 19, 2015 at 8:53 am by Andrew

I’m short of time this morning, so please excuse the rather brief explanations below. A very Rufus-y Rufus today, with six double and eight (!) cryptic definitions: some of the latter rather obvious, … Read more >>

Guardian 26,470 – Crucible

Fri January 16, 2015 at 8:59 pmFri January 16, 2015 at 10:02 am by Andrew

For some reason I found this a bit of a slog while I was solving it, but looking back I see that there’s a nice variety of clues and lots to admire. There … Read more >>

Guardian 26,463 – Pasquale

Thu January 8, 2015 at 5:22 pmThu January 8, 2015 at 9:08 am by Andrew

A tough challenge from Pasquale, with quite a few names in the answers, which with the need for some “general knowledge” and a couple of obscure words might not make this to everyone’s … Read more >>

Azed 2220 – Christmas Crackers

Sat January 3, 2015 at 9:54 pm by Andrew

In six-and-a-half years of blogging Azed, this is the first time the luck of the draw has brought me a Christmas puzzle. I was a bit apprehensive at the prospect, as some of … Read more >>

Guardian 26,456 – Qaos

Wed December 31, 2014 at 12:52 am by Andrew

Nothing too troubling in this one, with just one (easily gettable) answer that was new to me. Thanks to Qaos for the entertainment, and Happy New Year to all. As (almost) always with … Read more >>

Guardian 26450 – Enigmatist

Tue December 23, 2014 at 9:24 am by Andrew

Enigmatist’s name is one that always causes a slight feeling of panic when he comes up to be blogged, but I found this puzzle a very gentle one by his standards. I started … Read more >>

Guardian 26,443 – Rufus

Mon December 15, 2014 at 8:23 am by Andrew

I found this harder than usual for a Rufus, perhaps because of the generous (some might say excessive) number of cryptic (7) and double (5) definitions. The NE corner held was the last … Read more >>

Guardian 26,441 – Qaos

Fri December 12, 2014 at 9:25 am by Andrew

Despite a few very obvious clues (e.g. 11a, 19d) I found this a bit of a struggle, though I got there in the end, with 12d (unknown to me) being the last in … Read more >>

Guardian 26,434 – Otterden

Thu December 4, 2014 at 6:29 pmThu December 4, 2014 at 9:50 am by Andrew

I haven’t been particularly impressed by Otterden’s puzzles in the past, and I’m afraid this one has done nothing to change my opinion. To repeat what I said on a previous occasion, “there … Read more >>