Hard! Normally I manage to finish AZED with just a paper copy of Chambers for aid. It may take more than one sitting but I get there in a reasonable amount of time. Not this week. I gave up trying to solve unaided early on and even using electronic aids I really struggled. At times I was basically cheating as I was trawling the web for information and using all sorts of word-search programs to try and make progress. Towards the end things got a little easier as the number of checking letters allowed me to revert to a more straightforward approach. Thank you AZED for a great challenge.
Azed
AZED 2,284
A very straightforward plain Azed this week.
Azed 2283
This puzzle was published on the first Sunday of the month so it’s an Azed competition puzzle, but it’s a plain one I didn’t find anything particularly difficult in what … Read more >>
AZED 2,282
A surprisingly easy Azed — which I completed in a single session with only occasional recourse to TBRB — relatively speaking not too many Scots words or Spenserisms.
AZED 2,281
I always cheat when doing Azed. In a normal daily cryptic this would be unforgivable until perhaps the very end when one is stuck, but with Azed I always say to myself that the words are so weird that one needs help. You may say that I should persevere and try to do it all from the wordplay and only then look up the word to see if it exists, and yes I do sometimes do that, but the wordplay itself also often makes reference to some impossible words and I’d never get anywhere. At least I would. but it would take me about ten times as long as I normally spend.
As always everything, with its neat clueing, is perfectly clear after the event.
Definitions underlined and in maroon.
Azed 2280
I couldn’t find my original copy when I came to write this, so have solved the puzzle twice. Of course it was a bit easier the second time round, but (as far as … Read more >>
AZED 2,279 – Cherchez la Femme
I was a little apprehensive on seeing this puzzle as I had forgotten it was my turn to blog and so had to solve and explain all in a hurry. Fortunately the puzzle was not as difficult as it appeared to be from reading the instructions. Thank you Azed.
AZED 2,278
A standard plain Azed this week, in a standard 12 x 12 grid.
Azed 2277
An Azed plain puzzle this week I got a surprisingly long way through this before reaching for Chambers, so either I’m getting better or the clues were slightly easier this … Read more >>
AZED 2,276
A lot easier than the run-of-the-mill. Almost as easy as this week’s Listener (OK — last week’s). And Paul’s awesome crossword utility automatically parses the (relaunched) Guardian site’s PDF once again which is nice too.
AZED No. 2,275 Plain
When I first solved The Listener crossword I was pleased with myself, then went to a website that discussed it and everyone said how easy this particular puzzle was. This was rather dispiriting … Read more >>
Azed 2274
A gentle start to the Azed year: I don’t time myself, but I think I finished this (apart from checking a couple of stragglers in Chambers) in less than half an hour. As … Read more >>
Azed 2272 “Snowflake”
This Christmas puzzle employs a device that I don’t remember Azed using before. The special instructions state: “In the completed diagram, eight words in jumbled form may be seen radiating from and including the central square, which must be deduced”.
AZED 2,273 Plain
I enjoyed this one very much. The dictionary got off lightly this time as I seemed to know (or at least vaguely remember) most of the words here, unusual for me. Thank you Azed.
Azed 2271
An Azed plain puzzle this week This was a fairly typical Azed. The entries were the usual result of Azed’s trawl through the dictionary looking for a mix of well … Read more >>