Observer

AZED 2,285 – Give & Take

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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.

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Everyman 3623

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Fine puzzle from Everyman.  Some delightful surface readings; good variety of clue types; no obscurities; solver-friendly grid.  Not much to be grumpy about, is there?       Abbreviations cd  cryptic definition dd  … Read more >>

Azed 2283

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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

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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.

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AZED 2,281

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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.

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Everyman 3619/14 February

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A Valentine’s Day puzzle from Everyman.  Apologies for the late appearance of this, but I was busy on the 14th being romanced by shedloads of attractive and rich fifty-something divorcees, which took my … Read more >>

Azed 2280

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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

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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.

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