Never knowingly undersolved
A lot of comedic sailors in the puzzle answers this time, what with PRATFALL crossing with SLAPSTICK and a raft of TARS, SALTS, SAILORS, RATINGS and SEAMEN. Strangely, I hadn’t noticed this mini-theme … Read more >>
I found this more of a struggle than usual, particularly with some of the definitions. Is it just me? The massive “Titanic” answer once spotted thankfully gave many checking letters throughout the grid … Read more >>
Sorry this is late. I should have posted this yesterday but simply forgot. This seemed so small after the Xmas monster. I’m not sure I’ve chosen correctly on 29A. Across 1 COMICS (SO … Read more >>
This giant (27*27) crossword offered an substantial £250 prize. This year it used the Eye’s regular Pseuds Corner column for its material and we had to find an absolutely eye-wateringly priggish piece from … Read more >>
Because I have some trouble using the “less than” sign to indicate reversals in these blogs I noticed that unusually there were no reversals in this crossword. No totally straight Cryptic Defs either. … Read more >>
When I solved this I particularly enjoyed it. That could be because I found a bit of piece a quiet and finished it uninterrupted for a change, but it is a solid product … Read more >>
I don’t time myself when solving crosswords. I know I’m not very fast compared to most other people on this blog, and frankly it’s a bit late to start doing that now. However … Read more >>
There are occasions when the answer to a clue is a word or its reverse, and there is nothing in the clue to indicate which. So you end up relying on crossing checking … Read more >>
This issue brought us the usual fare in the style we come to expect from our optically-challenged friend. Across 7 NEIGHBOURS – (IGNORE BUSH)* I liked “soft” as the anagrind 8 GSOH – … Read more >>
Excellent stuff from Cyclops in this issue. A few really tricky clues which I would never get without the crossing letters, but enough that could be solved cold to get going. A couple … Read more >>
It’s been a busy time for Maggie lately, dropping in on her old abode to see what colour Gordon’s painted the walls, meeting Rudolph Giuliani, and of course appearing in the Eye Crossword … Read more >>
Going back in time in US politics in this offering with two men called Dean. Across 7 DEMEANS – ME in DEAN’S – John Dean is the Nixon advisor here. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Dean 8 UP … Read more >>
NORWICH is an acronym for “kNickers Off Ready When I Come Home” as used by WWII soldiers when writing to their loved one to avoid the censors. Basically SWALK for the randy. Did … Read more >>
… and two erections that were not “up” – giving the lie to my pronouncement a few weeks ago that “erection” often means “up” in the Eye puzzle. Some good examples in here … Read more >>
Gordon Brown gets more of a work-out this time in the early clues, as “leader” and is often useful to suggest one of the short “brown” colours, tan, dun, etc. I might not … Read more >>