Beelzebub has certainly thrown down the gauntlet with this cruciverbal challenge

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Another quality work from the Don with a rich variety of cryptic devices, each crafted well and creatively. I do, however, have one teeny-weeny quibble. Dr Brian Skinner, my crossword moderator, would never allow me to use the same device more than once in a puzzle; he calls it inelegant. Here we see one for I used in 21A and 4D and son for S in 12D and 20D. Otherwise, a very entertaining 30 minutes like Hancock’s Half Hour (anyone still remember those pre-tv days?).

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I found this one of the hardest Azed plain puzzles for a long time, with, I think, a higher-than-average proportion of obscure words. I ended up with some rather tedious dictionary-searching to get the last few answers, and also to confirm out a lot of the explanations. I can’t fully explain 12dn – help needed! Read the rest of this entry »

A few mild obscurities, perhaps, but plenty of smooth surfaces. Thanks to The Trafites and to PeeDee for the tools to help create this blog. Read the rest of this entry »