Never knowingly undersolved
I struggled with this puzzle having to return to it a number of times. With hindsight I think that the wordplay was clever but very fair. The definitions were well disguised which made … Read more >>
A nice short preamble: five answers have one letter added or removed and then arranged for entry. The lengths for these clues refer to the answer, rather than entry, lengths, so they are … Read more >>
Still no sign of the recent puzzles online, and I’m far from the madding crowd today so unlikely to lay my hands on the paper itself. If you have been fortunate enough to … Read more >>
An enjoyable crossword from Scorpion. As you might expect there was some tricky wordplay — in many of these its explanation needs to be separate from the answer. Across 1 SILICON VALLEY — 2 defs, … Read more >>
Tough going with Araucaria today. I got 22/21 quickly, which led immediately to 15/14 and a couple of others, but still struggled to finish it. There were a few references that I had … Read more >>
Solving time, 19 mins, so not too difficult. * = anagram < = reversed ACROSS 1 NAT HAN(d) tan< 4 S (PORT) ING 9 B (EAR) OUT 11 UP P (SAL)A 12 SONS … Read more >>
Monday Prize Crossword on 3 August 2009 dd = double definition cd = cryptic definition rev = reversed or reversal ins = insertion cha = charade ha = hidden answer *(fodder) = anagram … Read more >>
Yet another sterling Cincinnus puzzle this time that I enjoyed while on holiday in the Tyrol. I finished it quickly except for the top-right corner. And I especially liked 14A, 22A, 28A, 6D … Read more >>
I will provide a breakdown of this puzzle if/when it appears on the FT website. Analysis added 14/8/2009. Some very good clues in this one. Across 1 SURREALIST SURRE[y] (south-eastern county snubbed) A … Read more >>
*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone, CD=cryptic def, DD=double def This was an enjoyable puzzle that was mostly straightfoward but I had some trouble with the SW corner. For some reason, that often seems to … Read more >>
Two long anagrams gave me an quick start to a generally straightforward puzzle, but I’m still stumped by some of the wordplay. Edits thanks to comments Across 1 EXPOSE EX POSE 2 MIGHTY … Read more >>
There must be an issue with the FT website: they have not posted any puzzles since Friday. Fortunately, the FT is the paper I read on the train this morning, so the blog … Read more >>
*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone, cd=cryptic definition, dd=double definition. For once I’ve actually picked up on a theme and spotted a Nina, although the penny dropped much later in the game than I should … Read more >>
dd = double definition cd = cryptic definition rev = reversed or reversal ins = insertion cha = charade ha = hidden answer *(fodder) = anagram What a horrendous day. Last night, lightning … Read more >>
There’s frequently something special about Brendan’s crosswords and this one is no exception: every clue’s construction is of the form where a single letter is included in another word to give the definition. … Read more >>