Observer

Everyman 4,037/3 March

by

Another sound and pleasing puzzle from Everyman this morning. Clearly clued and with all the usual trademarks. Abbreviations cd cryptic definition dd double definition cad clue as definition (xxxx)* anagram anagrind = anagram … Read more >>

Azed No. 2,697 – Plain

by

A pleasant and not too difficult crossword from Azed. I got into a bit of a mess with the software that produces the blog (which was thrown by the strange enumeration at 1ac), but with some help from the writer of the software and a little fiddling I think it’s now in an acceptable form. Some of the anagram indicators are a bit extreme, but Azed basically allows anything where there is a little bit of jiggling.

Definitions in crimson, underlined; anagram indicators in italics; anagrams indicated *(like this) or (like this)*.

Read more >>

Everyman 4,036

by

When I’m not blogging I sometimes miss The Everyman, but when I did it a week or two ago it seemed to be becoming easier, and I wondered if Alan Connor was deliberately making it so in response to the several remarks that this was no longer an entry-level crossword. However, this one has shown that this is not apparently the case, because I thought this was very tricky and I’m still not sure of the parsing of one or two of the clues. I couldn’t find the usual rhyming pair or much of that type; two answers ended with the same three letters although they didn’t rhyme, and I’ve highlighted them in a rather doubtful grey, not the usual flamboyant colours which announce a discovery.

Definitions in crimson, underlined. Indicators (Hidden, anagrams, homophones, insertion, reversal, etc.) in italics. Anagrams indicated *(like this) or (like this)*. Link-words in green.

Read more >>

Everyman 4,033/4 February

by

Everyman provides us with another well-constructed cryptic crossword this Sunday. Abbreviations cd cryptic definition dd double definition cad clue as definition (xxxx)* anagram anagrind = anagram indicator [x] letter(s) removed definitions are underlined … Read more >>

Everyman 4,032

by

A sound and good crossword from Everyman. Long ago the idea of this being an entry level crossword seems to have been abandoned and some of the clues, like 1ac, are rather tricky. But it all seems to be sound, and one could argue that that is more important. 3dn and 7dn are a rhyming pair (I can’t find any others) and there are the usual self-referential and first letters clues.

Definitions underlined, in crimson. Indicators (homophone, hidden, reversal, etc) in italics. Link-words in green. Anagrams indicated (thus)* or *(thus).

Read more >>

Azed 2692

by

I found this pretty easy for an Azed, though it took me a while to get the parsing of 15a, and I have a couple of quibbles. Thanks to Azed.   Across 1 … Read more >>

Azed No. 2,691 Plain

by

It’s always a relief when blogging duty coincides with an Azed plain, because his specials, which are especially good, always take me ages to do. I admire his grid construction: OK some of the words are pretty wild, but they are all there in Chambers so far as I can see, and to fit words into a 12×12 grid where there are four 11-letter words abutting each other in pairs seems brilliant. 5 and 8dn are presenting problems, which I’m sure will be explained to me.

Definitions underlined in crimson. Anagrams indicated (like this)* or *(this), with their indicators in italics.

Read more >>