loonapick

A typical Araucaria crossword, which hinges on being able to solve one key clue.  In this case the key answer was the one at 19ac.  Once you have that worked out, the rest … Read more >>

Sorry for the lateness of this blog; I thought I was due to do Friday’s this week, and only realised that it was my turn when the puzzle hadn’t been blogged.  Upon checking … Read more >>

I’ve blogged Quantum 3 or 4 times before, and I think I have been fairly mild with my criticism in each case.  I don’t really enjoy solving a Quantum crossword, especially a waorkaday … Read more >>

Given the number of black squares in the grid and the lack of difficulty in this puzzle, I was expecting there to be a theme, but, if it’s there, I can’t find it. … Read more >>

A typical Paul effort with clues ranging from easy to difficult, and a collection of words some will know, and others won’t. I quite enjoy the mental challenge of a Paul puzzle, but … Read more >>

This was quite tough for a Monday, with some obscure words mixed in with references to Shakespeare, mythology, ancient alphabets and poetry.  All in all, it was enjoyable to solve, and took me … Read more >>

Chifonie’s puzzles tend to be fair and on the easier side. This one was no exception (solved in about 7 minutes), although I can’t work out the wordplay for 8dn, so if anyone … Read more >>

This puzzle is dominated by four long down entries. Once you have solved them, the rest of the answers become much easier to fathom out. It was generally fair, and there are some … Read more >>

When I opened the Guardian website today to see whose puzzle I’d be blogging, I had that familair sense of unease that comes from seeing the name “Araucaria”. Don’t get me wrong – … Read more >>

  In my mind, while solving this puzzle, I was thinking that this preamble would say how easy this crossword was, then I came across a word I didn’t know, but was able … Read more >>