Never knowingly undersolved
Another grid that is effectively four separate crosswords, loosely linked. I found the NE and SE quadrants reasonably straightforward but took a little longer over the other two. With hindsight, most of the … Read more >>
Another good puzzle from Neo. Some good cryptic definitions in this one. Across 1 LACHESIS LA (at Harfleur, “the”) + I in CHESS (game that targets king). One of the three Fates of … Read more >>
Radian’s certainly developed a fairly unique and often fairly tricky style in his short time as an Indy setter, but I’m a fan. There’s some nice stuff here. There’s a kinda theme too … Read more >>
dd = double definition cd = cryptic definition rev = reversed or reversal ins = insertion cha = charade ha = hidden answer *(fodder) = anagram After that Monday puzzle yesterday, this one … Read more >>
*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone, CD=cryptic def A couple of rather loose definitions (laptop computer = means of communication ?) meant I found sections of this tricky. There was only one (15 down) I … Read more >>
A non-Rufus Monday with a puzzle from Arachne that I found quite hard going, with some very involved wordplay. There are a couple of clues that I still don’t understand, but I’m sure … Read more >>
One of those where I couldn’t get the last couple for days. 22D was the bugbear. The eureka moment when I finally thought of RAG for “mock” was nice, but I’m glad … Read more >>
As always, a well-clued easy puzzle particularly suited to newcomers to cryptic crosswords. I have reservations with 6dn in that it makes very little/no sense in its surface reading. As far as i … Read more >>
I found this puzzle even easier than the previous week’s, mainly thanks to the grid. Although there are several words where the initial letter is unchecked, the overall checking is so generous that … Read more >>
*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone, cd=cryptic definition, dd=double definition. What with last week‘s excitement, and a further auspicious puzzle number, one wondered what to expect this week. What we got was an understated theme, … Read more >>
Solving time: 6 minutes for most of the puzzle and the same again on 19dn. Paul is running the London Marathon tomorrow in support of the deafblind charity Sense. There’s more information at … Read more >>
*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone, cd=cryptic definition, dd=double definition. A typically high-quality Friday Phi, I think. The SE corner put up a bit of a fight for me, but apart from that it all … Read more >>
Pleasing puzzle from Mudd as usual. Some nifty definitions (especially liked 2D, 21D) and more than one define-by-example style of clue (23A, 3D, 8D). I have two small questions about the wordplay (1A, … Read more >>
A very enjoyable and typically witty puzzle from Paul, based around his participation in the London Marathon this weekend. Key: * = anagram dd = double definition < = reverse Across 1. POTASSIUM … Read more >>
Tough but fair, as always with this setter. The NW corner gave me lots of problems but I got there in the end with just one answer I’m not completely sure about at … Read more >>