Observer

Azed 2576

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A plain Azed puzzle this week.       There was the usual mix of unknown, vaguely-known and well known words and phrases in the entries in this puzzle leading to a my … Read more >>

Everyman 3,914/17 October

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Another Sunday offering from Everyman that I think will please beginners and less experienced solvers. I’m sure they’ll tell us if not. The trademark clues this week are the rhyming couplet PITTER-PATTER and … Read more >>

Everyman 3,913

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There are several features of ‘the new Everyman’: rhyming answers (although I always have trouble finding these — Quito – Cointreau?), the ‘Primarily’ clue, which always provides a nice easy way in, the clues to these (as here) often being very clever, the reference to Everyman as ‘me’ which so far as I can see always appears quietly somewhere (in 12ac this time), and possibly others. Within these restrictions we are usually nowadays given a sound crossword. My criticisms below tend to be very minor. One might carp about the fact that there are as many as three (I think) reversals of the whole thing.

Definitions in crimson, underlined. Indicators (hidden, reversal, homophone, etc) in italics. Anagrams indicated (like this)* or *(this).

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Azed 2573

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As I was writing up this blog, it struck me that most of the parsing of the clues is very straightforward: I think more so than usual. Of course there’s the usual helping … Read more >>

Everyman 3,910/19 September

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Another pleasing Sunday offering from Everyman, somewhat marred by a lack of editing leading to a clue having to be corrected after publication (on the website, at least).   Abbreviations cd cryptic definition … Read more >>

Everyman 3,909

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The problem with the current Everyman crosswords is that their difficulty varies so. There are some easy enough clues, of which many are quite good I think, but one or two really difficult ones. The aim, surely, is to have some sort of a gateway crossword which encourages new setters (yes I mean solvers, silly mistake, thanks Michelle@3) , and in its present form the Everyman crossword fails to do so, I should have thought. I’m not a fast solver at all, but the old Everyman used to take me about 20 minutes. This one so far (and I seem to have solved it and spent much time on the blog, but there is still quite a bit of tidying up remaining) has taken me about 2½ hours. If I weren’t doing the blog I’d probably have taken approaching an hour if I wanted, as I do (unlike most speed solvers), to be sure of the parsing at all stages.

Definitions in crimson, underlined. Indicators (anagrams, hidden, reversal etc.) in italics.

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Azed 2570

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It is a plain Azed puzzle that forms the basis of the blog this week       I got quite a long way through the puzzle without looking in Chambers, but as … Read more >>