Never knowingly undersolved
Eleven cryptic definitions out of 26 clues? I think that must be a record, even for a Rufus puzzle; and some of them are rather weak, or otherwise satisfactory, as noted below. So, … Read more >>
A nicely judged offering from Quiptic regular Pan.
A good variety of clue types, and some nice surface readings and touches of humour. All in all, a very enjoyable start to the cryptic week.
Chuffing Nora. I keep telling the editor and setters that I only decided to put my name down to blog the Monday Indy because it was ‘the easy one’. … Read more >>
Quite a challenging week, I thought, though I did make life difficult for myself by absent-mindedly writing in SKIP at 23 across like a chump. It helped to know your Samoan currencies, as … Read more >>
The usual Everyman mix of sound cluing and well-constructed surfaces. Abbreviations cd cryptic definition dd double definition (xxxx)* anagram anagrind = anagram indicator [x] letter(s) removed definitions are underlined … Read more >>
I found this hard at first and didn’t make much headway until I’d cracked a couple of the long downs. Azed’s tech-knowledge surprised me a bit — so much so that I resisted both tech-centric answers until I could do so no longer.
I liked this grid with words all the way round the border, it is a long while since I saw one of these. Good to have the minimum of black space on the grid, value for money!
There are a couple of clues where I don’t quite get the wording, even though I’m sure I have the correct answer. Thanks to Hypnos for an enjoyable Sunday solve.
Nestor has sometimes been described as one of the easier of the Saturday Independent setters. I guess these things are relative, as I found this one quite a challenge. Still, I got there … Read more >>
An alphabetical jigsaw – with rhyming couplets, no less! – to celebrate what would have been Araucaria’s 94th birthday on Monday of this week.
A nice short preamble…only 24 clues…this should be a doddle! But hang on, what is going on with the grid? No bars, no grid numbers, except 1-12 along the ‘axes’. No clue enumerations … Read more >>
Some good Puckish fun today – nicely positioned in difficulty, but with a twist… … as well as some cross-referencing between clues, there’s a theme of clues that are, or use, some of … Read more >>
As expected, today saw my monthly tussle with Phi. I found this one quite tough, not least, I feel, because of the high frequency of 4-letter entries. I solved clues steadily but didn’t … Read more >>
An excellent challenge from MUDD today! Several fantastic clues peppered all over the grid and a real treat for someone wanting to bite into tantalizing cryptic crosswords.
A good puzzle for tyros but not enough grey cell exercise for this solver as it required only one pass through the clues in order to complete the grid. . Across 1 Deficit … Read more >>
Scchua is away celebrating the Chinese new year so you’ve got me you lucky chaps & chapesses