My first thought on seeing this puzzle was how current events have given an unfortunate resonance to ‘Vlad’s pseudonym, and I was going to mention that in this blog – but someone beat me to it with a letter in Monday’s Grauniad, where they suggested he should change it to Vlod, in keeping with ‘cancel culture’…or maybe to show solidarity with the Ukrainian president?
Guardian
Guardian Cryptic 28720 Anto
Thank you to Anto. Definitions are underlined in the clues. Across 1. Saw dog wearing lead (7) PROVERB : ROVER(a generic name for a pet dog) contained in(wearing) PB(symbol for the chemical element, … Read more >>
Guardian Cryptic 28,719 by Paul
The puzzle may be found at https://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/cryptic/28719.
Guardian 28,718 / Nutmeg
A mid-week appearance from Nutmeg, offering a typically elegant and witty puzzle, with lots of ingenious clues and lovely surfaces, as ever. I liked the combination of the 6s, 10, 11, 17, 19, … Read more >>
Guardian Cryptic 28,717 by Qaos
A fun and tricky solve…
Guardian Quiptic 1167 Pasquale
Thank you to Paasquale. Definitions are underlined in the clues. Across 8. Coastal road — gosh, a suitable place! (8) CORNICHE : COR!(like “gosh!”, an expression of surprise) + NICHE(a suitable place, one … Read more >>
Guardian 28,716 – Matilda
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 >>
Guardian Prize 28,709 / Philistine
I’m going to pre-empt crypticsue today by calling myself lucky, in having landed a Philistine puzzle to blog, only a month after my last one. It was clear, from a cursory scan of … Read more >>
Guardian 28,714 – Picaroon
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 >>
Guardian Cryptic 28713 Mobo
Thank you to Mobo (a tricky new setter). Definitions are underlined in the clues. Across 1. Search old parts belonging to record? (8,4) QUESTION MARK : QUEST(a search/a hunt for something) + O(abbrev. … Read more >>
Guardian Cryptic 28,712 by Paul
The puzzle may be found at https://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/cryptic/28712.
Guardian 28,711 / Brummie
It’s Brummie setting today’s challenge, so is there a theme today? You never know what to expect with him. I thought at first that 10ac and 4dn might be leading us somewhere but … Read more >>
Guardian Cryptic 28,710 by Vulcan
A very fun start to the week – I really liked 27ac, and other favourites were 14ac, 4dn, 7dn, 11dn, and 20dn. Thanks to Vulcan for the puzzle.
Guardian Quiptic 1,166/Carpathian
Always a pleasure when I click open the Quiptic and see that Carpathian is the setter. Another delightful and accessible puzzle for beginners from her this morning. There are two little points of … Read more >>
Guardian 28,703 / Paul
I haven’t blogged about a Paul in a little while, so this was a nice treat! Particularly notable for me was the number of very nice double definitions here. Thanks, Paul! Across 5. … Read more >>