Never knowingly undersolved
Found this trickier than usual from Gordius, but very enjoyable. Favourite clues 12ac, 26ac and 1dn. Across 1 MONGREL =”unrefined types” hidden in “aMONG RELatively” 5 KAISER =”emperor” KA (Ford model) + IS … Read more >>
The crossword may be found at http://www.guardian.co.uk/crosswords/cryptic/25846 for as long as it is archived. I had quite a struggle with Paul’s wit and ingenuity in this one. It was not made any the … Read more >>
Quite a smart work-out this morning but having some problems parsing a couple of clues. Across 1 APPEAL Shock inclusion of exiled premier brings call for dismissal (6) Ins of E (first letter … Read more >>
It’s Chifonie, rather than Rufus, who’s providing today’s customary ‘gentle start’ to the week, with plenty of anagrams and charades but no cryptic definitions, as far as I can see – and a … Read more >>
A typical Quiptic puzzle by Hectence, none too taxing. Thank you Hectence. Definitions are underlined in the clues. [[The 4 pictures at the bottom have unidentified links to the puzzle.]] Across 1 Messed up … Read more >>
I have blogged some pretty difficult Araucaria puzzles – and this one, as it happens, was not one of them – but this preamble, I think, must be the most difficult I’ve had … Read more >>
Araucaria has used this crossword to impart some very sad news.
After being stretched a bit by the setter’s setter-mum yesterday, I was expecting the worst. And, on the first pass, I could not, if at all, connect more than 2 answers together. But, after … Read more >>
We don’t see Audreus very often, so it’s always good to see her name on a puzzle. There were several smiles here, which made up for a couple of niggles, with some nice … Read more >>
It is always a pleasant task to blog The Don as he is so scrupulously fair in his clueing and usually has a variety of devices to bemuse, amuse and entertain. Across 7 … Read more >>
A good puzzle with a good range of clue types, but perhaps a little tough for a Quiptic. Most of the definitions given are from Chambers 11th Edition. Most of the standard abbreviations … Read more >>
I guessed I was in for a quick solve on this when I got 1a and 5a, and then 10a and 11a, immediately, and so it proved, with most of the answers virtually … Read more >>
Well, this was an interesting challenge. My initial progress was quite rapid because I concentrated on the clues that were obviously not affected by the special instructions. The first modified entry that I … Read more >>
It’s always nice to have a crossword from Paul to post about, and I nowadays only get that chance when he occasionally gets a prize puzzle slot. We found this a satisfying solve, … Read more >>
To solve this, I had to negotiate my way past an impressive array of diversionary tactics. Across 9. Opponent finished Old Course (9) ANTIPASTO An charade of ANTI (‘opponent’) plus PAST (‘finished’) plus … Read more >>