Everyman 4,012

The usual good crossword from Everyman, all sound so far as I can see, and the usual rhyming pair, the self-referential clue, and the first letters one. Quite a task to produce these grids every time. You’d think he’d run out of rhyming pairs eventually.

Definitions in crimson, underlined. Indicators (homophone, anagram, reversal etc) in italics, Anagrams shown (like this)* or *(like this), depending on where the indicator comes. Link-w0rds in green.

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Azed No. 2,673 Plain

The usual display of words which are either completely unknown or have a sense that is hidden away in the depths of the entry in Chambers, but all of which seem to be explicable. How on earth Azed produces them without electronic aids (as I think is the case) always amazes me.

I think six of the clues are of the form ‘xxxx? yyyy’, an Azed characteristic. Usually (but not always) the xxxx is the definition.

Definitions in italics, underlined in crimson. Anagrams indicated *(like this) or (like this)*, depending on whether the anagram indicator precedes or follows.

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Guardian 29,175 / Fed

I’m always pleased to see Fed’s name on a puzzle that I’m down to blog, knowing that I’m in for an enjoyable challenge in the parsing department. All the hallmarks are there: ingenious … Read more >>

Enigmatic Variations No.1606 – Mind Your Language by Ovid

“A change of regime has led to a new political correctness. Six clues have no definition and their answers must be altered to comply with the new requirement to MIND YOUR LANGUAGE. Extra letters generated by the wordplay of down clues spell out a further instruction affecting 12 cells. Numbers in brackets refer to entry lengths. Chambers Dictionary (2016) is recommended, One answer is an abbreviation; 20dn is in Collins.”

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