Never knowingly undersolved
This was much more straightforward than last week and included one mention of the date (Easter Sunday). The grid suggested the possibility of a perimeter nina, but we couldn’t find anything. Perhaps rereading … Read more >>
Monday Prize Crossword on 29 March 2010 What a pleasant surprise to have Mudd in this Monday slot. For the uninitiated, Mudd is John Halpern, said to be a libertarian setter who also … Read more >>
Prize puzzle from the Weekend FT of March 27 Cincinnus has some very artfully fashioned clues here: 1A, 21A, 24A, 6D and 17D. Across 1. OPERATIC – ERA (long time) in OPTIC (viewer) … Read more >>
Apologies for a bit of a late posting due to illness. As a result the post is a little rushed and mistakes may well have crept in. This seemed fairly tough in places … Read more >>
Nothing too difficult today so a very quick, though pleasant, solve. Only two clues required dictionary assistance to confirm the wordplay (the container in 10ac) or the answer (16dn) but both were entered … Read more >>
If there had been no name on this puzzle, I think it would not have taken regular solvers long to supply one. All the Pauline hallmarks are here: cheeky surfaces and / or … Read more >>
I found this difficult to start, but easy to finish (the opposite of my last blog!). I spent hours finding my first three down answers and was feeling pretty despondent until I found that … Read more >>
I thought this puzzle was very creative. Several of the definitions were particularly well-hidden or clever, e.g., 14 down. Across 1 SWASHBUCKLER S (“first: steam”) WASH (clean) BUCKLE (fold) R (“second: iron”). Having … Read more >>
Nice to get a chance to blog a puzzle set by one of our own at last. This is Raich/Niall’s 3rd daily outing (I think) and continues his excellent form to date. There … Read more >>
I found this puzzle very much like last week’s Gordius. Challenging and interspersed with some witty and humorous definition. Definitely an enjoyable and delightful solve. ACROSS 1 BOLIVIA B (bachelor) Olivia (girl) 5 … Read more >>
*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone, CD=cryptic def, DD=double def, sp=spoonerism As a fan of horror films, this was right up my street. Having said that, I wasn’t completely convinced by the cryptic def for … Read more >>
Somehow I found parts of this harder than usual with Rufus, though on looking back there’s nothing particularly tricky. Unusually there are only two pure cryptic definitions here; less unusually a smattering of … Read more >>
A very nearly pangrammatic grid this week. No sign of a K, however. I suppose it’s not impossible that I’ve slipped up somewhere, but I’m fairly confident that it isn’t there. *=anag, []=dropped, … Read more >>
Lorraine: Sorry everyone have to admit Nick done the crossword for me this week due to distressing news on Saturday, so it is down to Nick to comment. Nick: Nice to see after … Read more >>
After last week’s offering, which Jetdoc found easy, but which defeated me, I found this special very much easier than a normal Azed, doing much of it on the train without the aid … Read more >>