Never knowingly undersolved
This must have been my quickest ever solve of a Cinephile puzzle, with three quarters of the grid being filled during my first pass through the clues and the rest during the second. … Read more >>
It’s really difficult to know what to say in the preamble for Dac’s puzzles. They always have smooth surfaces and well-constructed clues but there is rarely anything ‘out of the ordinary’ that demands … Read more >>
Preamble: Starting at an unchecked square in the top row, the clockwise perimeter contains a 7-word non-English phrase. Unchecked letters, including corners, rearrange to give I SUB A HAIRCUT. Four clues omit a shared thematic definition. The other 34 clues include a … Read more >>
When you notice that a puzzle has been set by Donk, you know you have a treat in store, both as a solver and as a blogger. Today’s puzzle was no exception. This … Read more >>
Initially fearing a tough one from Neo, I was saved by the long answers, which I got before the shorter ones. He’s given the puzzle a literary flavour. Thanks Neo for an enjoyable … Read more >>
Tough, but not as impossible as it seemed on the first run through. Had to use Google to parse 23dn. Some very nice cluing, my favourites were 10ac, 19/20ac and 6dn. Across 9 … Read more >>
What one would expect of a Quiptic, maybe slightly easier than most. Thanks to Pan. Definitions are underlined in the clues. [[The pictures at the bottom have unidentified links to the puzzle. Please … Read more >>
A wild and wet morning here brings Quixote for our fortnightly monday entertainment. Quite a quick solve and blog today except possibly 17a where I feel I’m missing something possibly to do with … Read more >>
Brendan is becoming quite a regular as an occasional stand-in for Rufus in the Monday slot, which is fine by me. This is a suitably accessible puzzle, with quite a few anagrams and … Read more >>
In this puzzle, which features a 13 by 11 grid, Azed gives us 3 long answers both across and down. The puzzle also includes a larger than usual number of 4 letter words, … Read more >>
The puzzle may be found at http://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/everyman/3497.
17:30 21 October – corrupted data in the file has been removed – the blog now reads correctly. This was a Carte Blanche Competition Puzzle from Azed where solvers were presented with a … Read more >>
I enjoyed this Poins puzzle. Some quite intricate cluing, but all fair. And a bit of bestiality thrown in for good measure. Possibly the reason that the cluing is intricate is the large … Read more >>
It seems like quite a while since I did battle with Anax, but it’s always a welcome challenge. Admittedly, drawing an Anax can often be a little daunting for a solver, but this … Read more >>
At first, this looked impenetrable and therefore pretty daunting, especially as it was my blog. The first run through produced only 2dn, so none of the crucial ‘next’ clues, but it did give … Read more >>