Azed 2100
I was wondering whether there might be some kind of special for this, as the first round(ish) number since 2000 and happening to coincide with a competition week, but it turned out to … Read more >>
Andrew
Guardian 25,734 – Paul
I was pleased to see Paul’s name, as I always enjoy his puzzles. However the theme is not one of my strong points so I needed a bit of help… …the theme is … Read more >>
Guardian Genius 110 – Picaroon
As the instructions say: “All clues are normal [phew!]. Half of the 28 solutions must be turned round and entered in the grid backwards.” This meant filling in answers in pencil until their … Read more >>
Guardian 25,729 – Araucaria
Good fun (with a few niggles) from the Guardian’s premier setter. The key answer at 9dn was a write-in, giving away the theme of Prime Ministers (all of the recent ones back to … Read more >>
Guardian 25,719 – Rufus
Apologies for a blog that is both late and rather brief – I’ve been distracted by urgent work-related matters. Anyway, this is Rufus in his usual style, with lots of double and cryptic … Read more >>
Guardian 25,715 – Brummie
To my surprise it seems to be almost exactly two years since I last blogged a Brumnmie puzzle. I said then that “I always feel a little nervous when I see Brummie’s name … Read more >>
Guardian 25,710 – Gordius
Yesterday’s puzzle from Paul would be a hard act to follow for any setter, and Gordius (not one of my favourite setters, as regular readers will know) suffers in comparison. Most of this … Read more >>
Guardian 25,705 – Chifonie
After an interesting and challenging week of puzzles we are back to rather more standard territory today. This is very much in Chifonie’s style, with a lot of charades (ten of them) and … Read more >>
Azed 2094
An Azed from the easy end of the spectrum, with almost entirely straightforward clueing, that I finished off in one shortish session. I don’t usually record these kinds of statistics, but I found … Read more >>
Guardian 25,695 – Rufus
A fairly standard Rufus, though with (I think) a larger helping than usual of anagrams, especially the three long acrosses. These should give a good start to the puzzle for those who sometimes … Read more >>
Guardian 25,691 – Qaos
This is Qaos’s fourth weekday puzzle since his debut in January this year. I actually solved and blogged this last night, then found I’d written a rather grumpy blog and decided to sleep … Read more >>
Guardian 25,681 – Chifonie
This felt a bit harder than a typical Chifonie, as if the clue structures were rather more involved than usual, though looking down the list of explanations there’s actually nothing very complicated. There … Read more >>
Guardian 25,671 – Rufus
I found this hard than average for Rufus, mainly because the structure of many of the clues (which is usually completely straightforward) is very well hidden in a smooth surface reading. I have … Read more >>
Guardian 25,667 – Paul
I was worried when my first pass though the clues yielded only a couple of answers, but persistence gradually paid off. The usual variety of witty clueing from Paul, though with none of … Read more >>
Azed 2088
I found this pretty hard for a plain Azed, with an above-average number of unfamiliar words. I got 10dn and 35ac early on, and found myself working up to the top left corner … Read more >>