Observer

Azed 2169

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This was the final Azed puzzle of 2013 and was a standard plain puzzle comprising elegant cluing for a range of well known and obscure words, all of which can be found in … Read more >>

Azed 2168/CCCP

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A Christmas Crossword Celebration Party!  I think this one is a bit harder than the 1913 instance.  Though I have to say that having struggled with Pointer’s Listener, this felt like R&R. Missing … Read more >>

Everyman 3507/December 22

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A seasonal offering from Everyman.  As always, a pleasure to solve and blog.         Abbreviations cd  cryptic definition dd  double definition (xxxx)*  anagram anagrind = anagram indicator [x]  letter(s) removed … Read more >>

Azed 2167

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What we get every time with Azed — sound clues and a lot of wading through Chambers. They are always soluble in the end, although 1dn defeats me. I’m sure if this was a competition … Read more >>

Azed 2166

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As Don Manley pointed out in a comment on Nick’s blog last week, Azed’s sound clueing often means that you can often work out what the answer must be from the wordplay, even … Read more >>

AZED No. 2,165 Plain

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Nick:  Fairly straight forward Azed this week. I found nothing too taxing, although there are some gotcha’s unless the clues are parsed correctly. I also correctly guessed the competition phrase in about 60 … Read more >>

AZED 2,164 Playfair

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I admit to a slight feeling of trepidation when I opened my Observer last Sunday and noticed that it was a Playfair puzzle, knowing that it was my turn to blog.  It’s almost … Read more >>

Everyman 3503/November 24

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Another good’un – as always – from Everyman, containing  just one phrase with which I was unfamiliar.  And a small typo in one of the clues.       Abbreviations cd  cryptic definition … Read more >>

Azed 2163

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Azed, as usual, has given us a master class in precise cluing., where it is always clear when  you have derived the right answer from the wordplay.       There weren’t very … Read more >>