Never knowingly undersolved
A delightful tribute to the late Albie Fiore by the double-act of Enigmatist and Paul. Naturally I was able to fill in 18ac immediately, but some of the other clues held me up … Read more >>
A mix that included some fairly easy anagrams and some significantly trickier (and well done) clues. I really enjoyed this, even though 3 down still eludes me. Across 1 PREVENT PRE (before) VENT … Read more >>
Whenever ones sees several answers that are not ‘properly’ checked (in other words which have more unchecked than checked letters) one is alerted to the fact that there is some theme; although I … Read more >>
dd = double definition cd = cryptic definition rev = reversed or reversal ins = insertion cha = charade ha = hidden answer *(fodder) = anagram ACROSS 1 HANDEL Sounds like handle (name) … Read more >>
*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone, CD=cryptic def, DD=double def This was a brilliant piece of work by Morph. I don’t know if the idea has been used before or not – it’s such a … Read more >>
Back to Rufus for Monday morning and a good example of how a puzzle can be perfectly straightforward and still enjoyable and satisfying. We have Rufus’ characteristic wit and elegance in the surfaces, … Read more >>
Lots of anagrams this time with one interesting reverse anagram. That probably contributed to the feeling that nothing that was particularly difficult. I suspect I would have recorded a fast solve time if … Read more >>
Apologies for the late posting: I’d got my dates confused and only realised I was supposed to be blogging this puzzle just before I had to go out for a few hours. I … Read more >>
Nice and easy this week. There’s a couple of odd words, but usually with such clear signposts and complete definitions, it’s not very hard to check you’ve got the right thing. Overall, a … Read more >>
I have to admit I found Beelzebub particularly challenging this week. It took perhaps three or four sittings as opposed to the usual one or two to finish off. The exact construction of … Read more >>
Solving time: 18:42, almost half of which on three clues. I enjoyed this but got stuck on 16dn (ALFRESCO), 21dn (WHALE) and finally 8dn (FULMINATED). Other than the ‘bard’s friend’ in 21dn there … Read more >>
I was pressed for time today and so I’m happy there is an easyish Friday puzzle for a change. The RHS came together very quickly; the LHS took longer as I had a … Read more >>
A nice end to the week from Phi. Started this as I got on the bus to work, and finished just before I needed to get off. Perfect. Across 1 SUPERCHARGED – PERCH … Read more >>
This is a good example of a surprise you can sometimes get from thematic puzzles – that an idea hasn’t been used before. I even wonder if this is what the title is … Read more >>
There’s a mini-theme of improbability going on here, in 14, 18ac, 4dn and 24dn etc. There are one or two rather lame charades, I think, but an entertaining puzzle on the whole, as … Read more >>