Never knowingly undersolved
An impressive prize crossword from Picaroon, for reasons I’ll explain below…. There was some rubric for this puzzle, which read: Wordplay in each clue ignores a letter required in the solution What only … Read more >>
An enjoyable, but definitely not a walkover – at least not when parsing – puzzle from Qaos, to whom thanks. Definitions are underlined in the clues. Again, apologies for the late blog, but a visit … Read more >>
The puzzle may be found at https://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/cryptic/27344.
What a delight to find Orlando’s name on the puzzle this morning, after such a long time! It’s also a relief: I blogged his last puzzle, well over a year ago, on the … Read more >>
As often, Pasquale throws in a few obscurities – two completely new words and several only vaguely recognised, all gettable in the end thanks to the clueing. Favourites were 11ac, 13ac, 8dn and 14dn.
The scheduled blogger is still in York so I am covering for him. This is Matilda’s third appearance in the Quiptic slot but the first one I have solved so I didn’t know … Read more >>
A very Rufus-y Rufus today, with more than half the clues (17 ouf of 28) being double or cryptic defintions, or a kind of combination of the two. Personally I’d prefer a bit … Read more >>
A classically-themed puzzle from Philistine this week.
Perhaps slightly less fearsome than Vlad at full strength, but still some quite intricate parsings, including one of which I almost had to give up on. Thanks to Vlad for the challenging entertainment. … Read more >>
There are some nicely unusual clue constructions in this puzzle. Thanks to Crucible. Definitions are underlined in the clues. Across 9 I admitted to lethargy, travelling a long way (5,4) LIGHT YEAR : … Read more >>
The puzzle may be found at https://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/cryptic/27337.
A typical Tramp themed puzzle, in that knowledge of the theme is not essential for solving it [apart from 12ac] but some familiarity with it provides icing on the cake and sometimes a … Read more >>
Very nice – I especially liked 14ac, 16dn and 23dn 22dn. Thanks, Rufus.
A nicely constructed Quiptic from Moley this morning. There are one or two where I can’t quite get the cryptic grammar to work, but other folk will be able to assist if I’ve … Read more >>
I got confused about dates and forgot it was my turn to blog. I have explained the solutions but I cheated copiously to get the blog out quickly so I won’t pass any further comment. Apologies for the lateness and to Paul for not giving the puzzle the attention it deserved.