Guardian

A welcome break from late night measure theory… pretty quick, with quite a few straightforward cryptic defs and anagrams. Across 1 ACCOLADE as in the conferring of knighthood, which involves “raising the subject … Read more >>

Solving time: 12:15 A very quick blog this week as I have run out of time. I enjoyed this puzzle, not too difficult with a few memorable clues. Two comedians were described as … Read more >>

It looks like another no-show so you will have to put up with me again. I’ve mixed views about this puzzle. Some clues I liked (eg 9a & 23d), some were too obvious, … Read more >>

An entertaining but quite tricky puzzle from Paul, with a lot of long answers spanning two positions in the grid and a fair amount of cross-referencing. The SW corner caused me the most … Read more >>

I enjoyed this but then I always enjoy Araucaria. Across 1 DROPLET: DR (debtor, one obligated) + OP (work) + LET (for hire) 9 ATHENAEUM: A + THE (articles) + anagram of A … Read more >>

dd = double definition cd = cryptic definition rev = reversed or reversal ins = insertion cha = charade ha = hidden answer *(fodder) = anagram A very ordinary puzzle, easier than a … Read more >>

We seem to have another case of AWOL so here is a quick analysis of the clues. I will leave it up to others to provide a commentary. Across 1 PET AVERSIONS A … Read more >>

Solving time: About 20-25 mins, one mistake (24ac). The theme of this puzzle was Thomas Gray’s Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard, lines 51-52 and 57-60. Not knowing any of these lines made … Read more >>

Yet another posthumous Quantum puzzle. Unfortunately I have to say I wasn’t very impressed with it: there are a couple of rather weak cryptic definitions, and other niggles noted below. Apart from that … Read more >>

This is perhaps [in some ways] a puzzle for those who dislike cryptic definitions – not one in sight, but lots of simple charades, including a couple of rather hackneyed ones and some … Read more >>

I found this rather hard work, but with lots of excellent clues – 25 across in particular. Across 1. NICODEMUS (DEMONIC)* + US = “American”; In chapter 3 of John’s gospel, Jesus tells … Read more >>

dd = double definition cd = cryptic definition rev = reversed or reversal ins = insertion cha = charade ha = hidden answer *(fodder) = anagram I have previously touched on the tendency … Read more >>

A decent Monday puzzle with a couple of weakish cryptic definitions.  I guess it’s hard to come up with ‘easy’ CDs! Across 1. TWENTY. 2 + 0. 4. BASEBALL. BASE + BALL. 9. … Read more >>

Solving time: 9 mins Taupi (Albie Fiore) sadly died earlier this year; this was his final Guardian puzzle. There are many glowing tributes elsewhere on this site and on the web, including a … Read more >>

Across 1 SOPHISM OP=work in S[c]HISM 5 INSISTS sounds like “in cysts” 9 POLYP Y[en] in rev(PLOP) 10 UP THE WALL cryptic def 11 NURSE SHARK NURSE=tend to + SH=quiet + ARK=craft 12, … Read more >>