Guardian

Solving time: 9:06 A snooker-themed puzzle by an appropriately named setter to coincide with the World Championship at the Crucible last weekend. The unclued entries consisted of all the colours (less black and … Read more >>

As ever an excellent puzzle from Brendan. It was quickly apparent that every clue ended in “, say”. After solving a few it became clear that Brendan was using “say” in a number … Read more >>

When it’s a blogging day, I’m always happy to see that Paul is the setter, and this did not disappoint. As ever, some clever and potentially deceptive clues. Having solved 10a and 12a, … Read more >>

Somehow I was on an Araucarian wavelength today which is unusual for me. But nonetheless I was very grateful in a couple of places for wordplay since the definition was beyond me, e.g. … Read more >>

A tough Tuesday workout from the Moleman.  Lots of nice clues with terrific surface reading and a good challenge all round.  Bit puzzled over the explanation for 18.   ACROSS (*) = ANAGRAM,   … Read more >>

Apologies everyone. I did this crossword yesterday but failed to see that I was on blogging duty. A good but straightforward Rufus! Across 9 ODD NUMBER: &Lit 10 AMEND:MEN in AD 11 GALLANT: … Read more >>

Solving time: 8:22 The theme in this crossword was fictional archenemies: those of Batman (The Joker, The Penguin and The Riddler), Harry Potter (Voldemort), Luke Skywalker (Darth Vader), James Bond (Blofeld) and Flash … Read more >>

Found this really tough going at times, and still can’t work out some of the wordplay. Good puzzle overall though, with a few really nice clues. Across 1 IN CAHOOTS – INCA HOOTS … Read more >>

        * = anagram < = reversal dd = double definition Across 9 RODIN (e)RODIN(g) good to see ‘endlessly’ refer to both ends creating a nice surface. 10 WARMONGER RM+ON … Read more >>

So glad the luck of the draw gave me this benign but pleasant Araucaria to blog rather than yesterday’s Gordian nightmare. Still short one answer and my explanation of some of the wordplay is … Read more >>

This was hard work – with some answers really belonging in an advanced weekend puzzle — I found myself pulling out Chambers more than zero times, which is too many for a daily. … Read more >>

Solving time: 12 minutes Pleasant thematic start to the week, reminiscent of Altair’s puzzles, for those of an age.  A nice puzzle for those wanting to find their way into cryptics and themed … Read more >>

Solving time: 11:58 The clueing in this puzzle was more ‘down the line’ than normal for Araucaria, I thought. Nothing too obscure either, although a couple where the wordplay helped me out. 3dn … Read more >>

Hmm, well as today’s fifteensquared quality controller I have a few negative items to feedback here (OK, that’s enough of that – internal ed). Too many rather straightforward cryptic defs for my liking. Sorry if I seem … Read more >>

Across 1 COPPER: double definition 4 CLEMATIS: M in CLEAT IS. Clematis Vitalba is a wild flower, also known as Old Man’s Beard 9 NORMA: hidden in londoN OR MAnchester. It’s a 19th … Read more >>