Never knowingly undersolved
Richard Cleaver has asked me to help publicise this cryptic quiz, which is raising funds for MIND. Do have a go — it’s pretty good, and in a very deserving cause. Richard says: … Read more >>
I reckon we’ve had the tough one for this quintet, so this puzzle from Shark should be easy or moderate – but there are no guarantees. “A thematic reference appears in 8 … Read more >>
Phi on a Tuesday? Is there something special coming on Phiday? This was an enjoyable solve, as usual, with only a couple of checks required – we’d not come across the … Read more >>
Well, I hardly expected to see Dante on a Tuesday and wondered if I had got my days mixed up. However, it couldn’t be Monday because it wasn’t a prize puzzle. A very … Read more >>
All fairly straightforward today, though I’m not a huge fan of the grid with six 3-letter solutions. Favourite clue was 22dn.
Slightly trickier than the average Rufus, I thought, with fewer cryptic definitions than usual, making it seem more like a “normal” puzzle. Thanks to Rufus. Across 9. … Read more >>
There was much to enjoy in this puzzle despite its political and sports references not being of my persuasion. I struggled with the first part of 5/12 until I resorted to Google and I’m … Read more >>
… or anyone else, come to that. Better late than never, I hope. As I said earlier, after the disruption and upheaval of the past few months, we’re now getting settled into our … Read more >>
I thought this was a super Quiptic from Pan. Clear and witty cluing; no obscurities; friendly grid. What more do you want on a Monday morning? Abbreviations cd … Read more >>
All very smooth this week, though not unchallenging. There are some particularly nice surface readings, while if someone could confirm 23 down, I’d be grateful. *=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone, cd=cryptic definition, dd=double definition. … Read more >>
Another quality puzzle from Poins, with lots of nice anagrams to work through. I managed this in one sitting in the pub, making for a very pleasant Sunday afternoon. I don’t seem to … Read more >>
A quick solve for me this week with the SE holding me up the longest.
Although the structure of most of these clues is fairly straightforward, as witness the number of them that can be parsed in one bit, I found this one of Azed’s harder crosswords, with many difficult words and shades of meaning. Coomassie blue and makunouchi aren’t things I talk about every day. Indeed there are red squiggly lines under two of these words and they won’t go away.
As usual I’m not going to explain all these difficult words. I don’t want to be up all night.
Definitions underlined.
A Genius puzzle by Enigmatist – words to strike fear in a blogger’s heart. Fortunately this turned out to be one of his slightly more merciful offerings, though in traditional style it started … Read more >>
Classic Klingsor really, and very enjoyable. I seemed to get through this fairly swiftly, though the crossing pair of 10 across and 7 down beat me completely, and I had to go online … Read more >>