Azed No. 2,520 Plain
I finished the puzzle, but there are a few unparsed. Cards on the table – I printed the puzzle off last Sunday and left it sitting beside the printer until Saturday evening, thus … Read more >>
Observer
Everyman 3,858/20 September
Another pleasing Sunday puzzle from Everyman, with the usual features: the ‘primarily’ clue, the paired long rhyming couplet, and the Grauniad misprint to confuse newer solvers. Abbreviations cd cryptic definition … Read more >>
Azed 2519
I was close to giving this up as unfinished, thanks to a mistaken entry at 29a, but managed to recover. The time I spent on that has rather obscured my memory of the … Read more >>
Everyman 3,857
A fairly typical Everyman, with clues ranging from pretty easy to quite tricky. A good clue at 20a was spoiled by the omission of a couple of words in the online version, though … Read more >>
Azed No. 2,518 Plain
I found this at the trickier end of Azed’s plain puzzles. No complaints about that from me, the enjoyment lasted longer than usual. Thank you Azed. ACROSS 1 MASTERSWITCH Controller of all power … Read more >>
Azed No. 2,517 Plain – Competition Puzzle
A grid with an unusual feature for this month’s competition puzzle. The unusual feature is to be seen at 5 and 27 down, where we have five letter words with full checking. Another … Read more >>
Everyman 3,856
The puzzle may be found at https://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/everyman/3856. Another good Everyman crossword, with the usual ‘primarily’ clue, and the pair of 8D INVISIBLE INK and the far-from-invisible 9D SHOCKING PINK. ACROSS 1 GEORGE ELIOT … Read more >>
Everyman 3,855
The Observer crossword from 30 Aug, 2020. Perhaps it is just me but I found this puzzle a bit harder than usual. The construction of some clues (like 11ac and 24ac) may be … Read more >>
Azed 2516
A plain puzzle from Azed this week The grid contains the usual collection of less common words clued very precisely. I liked the linked clues at 29 and 31 down … Read more >>
Everyman 3,854/23 August
Another sound puzzle from Everyman, with – as should be the case – nothing to frighten the horses. Abbreviations cd cryptic definition dd double definition cad clue as definition (xxxx)* … Read more >>
Azed No. 2,515 ‘Cherchez la Femme’
Special instruction here, but the puzzle is not very far removed from a standard cryptic. Thank you Azed. As is often the case with Azed specials the instructions are long and detailed but … Read more >>
Everyman 3,853
Another fun weekend challenge in Everyman’s recent run of good form. Some have complained about Everyman’s rather loose definitions or vague indicators in the past, but I thought everything here was clear; a … Read more >>
Azed No. 2,514 Plain
One of Azed’s easier puzzles. By Azed standards, this was quite straightforward. I judge difficulty of barred crosswords by how far I get before I have to resort to dictionaries. In this case, … Read more >>
Azed 2513
Quite a tricky one this week I thought, with a lot of unfamiliar words in both answers and wordplay. Everything worked out soundly in the end, of course, with just a slight niggle … Read more >>
Everyman 3,852
The puzzle may be found at https://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/everyman/3852. This week we have paired clues aplenty: 1A OFF-THE-WALL and 26A ON THE SHELF; the rhyming pair 4D WEBCAMS and 5D LOG JAMS; the assonant artists … Read more >>