Never knowingly undersolved
Solving time: 16’ Mixture of clichéd crossword idioms and some clever wordplay. As usual, not a shaky surface in sight. Apologies for not posting this yesterday – there’s a complicated story involving Geneva, … Read more >>
A superb offering from Monk, one of my favourite setters. This was fairly easy in parts (I did half of it in about 15 minutes) but the NE corner was fiendishly difficult. Tough … Read more >>
Solving time: probably 35’ total with lots of interruptions Everyman grew up in the post-war Observer as Ximenes’s relatively easy puzzle. His guidelines (as I just learned in his “Art of the Crossword”) … Read more >>
Solving time 15:40 I like to see Scorpion puzzles, and I’m pleased to be writing the first Scorpion posting here on “225” – here’s why. From time to time, would-be setters send me … Read more >>
The last puzzle from one of the very best setters. Across 1 ACHILLES TENDON – I saw “heel” and stupidly assumed it was there to lead you away from Achilles. Unless it was … Read more >>
Solving time : about 20 minutes A classic Phi puzzle, very fair Ximenean clues with a few cryptic definitions thrown into the mix. Across 1 PAST+ORAL — ORAL is always a good guess … Read more >>
Quixote is, as most will know, Don Manley of the Chambers Crossword Manual, the 4th edtion of which has recently appeared. Highly recommended, especially for help in explaining all the clue types and … Read more >>
An easier day today after yesterday’s toughie from Paul. Auster is a very occasional setter for the Guardian – one or two puzzles a year I think. Across 5 HOARDED – anag of … Read more >>
Solving time: 6:04 An impressive 11 answers on a 24dn theme, though only 13ac, 14dn and possibly 16ac are likely to have caused any difficulty for anyone with only a passing knowledge. I … Read more >>
According to Hugh Stephenson, the Guardian crossword editor, Paul is the toughest of all the setters on the team. This puzzle certainly suggests that he’s not fibbing! My solving time was 29:44. I … Read more >>
Across 1 QUAKERS – r, square (anag). The formal name for the Quakers is the Religious Society of Friends. 5 PELISSE – a long cloak, often with a fur lining. Homophone clue as … Read more >>
This had all the attributes I associate with Dac – flowing clues, variation, trickery, always accessible in the end. Average in difficulty for a Dac for me – solved in 17 mins. ACROSS … Read more >>
Solving time : 45 minute bus journey plus some looking up when I got to work. I had hoped that a Tuesday Guardian puzzle would be a gentle start to my blogging, instead … Read more >>
If you’re familiar with Virgilius (Brendan in the Guardian) you were probably expecting some sort of theme or grid wizardry when you saw today’s puzzle. Somewhat surprising then, to discover that today’s is … Read more >>
Solving time: 29’ Rufus puzzles are always fair, fairly straightforward with sensible surface readings and rarely does he use obscure vocabulary. He’s considered at the easy end of the Guardian scale. In this … Read more >>