Never knowingly undersolved
Another excellent entry-level puzzle from Everyman, but with a few unusual features, none of which were Christmas-related. Abbreviations cd cryptic definition dd double definition (xxxx)* anagram anagrind = anagram indicator … Read more >>
A fairly complex preamble for RESURRECTION MAN, with clashing letters in seven cells representing a ‘dissected body’, thirty-six clues containing redundant word whose first letters spell out further useful information and an instruction, … Read more >>
For once, I wasn’t overly enamoured at the prospect of dragging myself out of bed to solve and blog a puzzle today, after all yesterday’s excesses and the prospect of a much-needed lie-in. … Read more >>
The puzzle may be found at http://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/cryptic/26452.
All the time that I was doing this the answers seemed to be clear enough, all of a piece with 9ac, and I was telling myself that the meaning of CA would eventually appear. But it wasn’t until quite long after finishing that I realised that CA was 100 Acres, 100 Acre Wood, the place where Pooh and his friends live. I’m not an expert on W-the-P, having unfortunately missed out on it in my childhood, but over the years all the names have become familiar — except for 6dn.
I’ve only just realised (after writing a long paragraph saying that I couldn’t understand ‘would say’) that ‘CA would, say’ is a homophone of ‘CA wood’. Why 6dn has commas but the others don’t is a mystery, though.
But I still can’t see the connection with today. It doesn’t seem to be any significant Pooh anniversary. Is it a non-Christmas crossword? Or, which is far more likely, am I missing something?
A nice crossword from Hieroglyph. Perhaps there are rather a lot of letters indicated by the first or last letters of words, but then perhaps that is the devilish intention.
Definitions underlined.
Lots to like here – my favourites were 1dn, 6dn and 14dn…
Monday Prize Crossword/Dec 15 Crux was clearly in a double and, to a lesser extent, cryptic definition mood. As ever, elegant surfaces and medium level of difficulty. Merry Christmas everyone! Definitions are underlined … Read more >>
Prize puzzle from the Weekend FT of December 14, 2014 I am getting to like Magwitch more and more. My favourite clues in this puzzle are 7d (BRIAR), 14d (EXISTENCE) and 17d (OVERSIGHT). … Read more >>
A carte blanche grid, so no bars and no numbers. And the clues have neither numbers nor length indications, nor are they in normal order or in alphabetical order of answers. Thanks, Phi. … Read more >>
Enigmatist’s name is one that always causes a slight feeling of panic when he comes up to be blogged, but I found this puzzle a very gentle one by his standards. I started … Read more >>
Thanks Phi for an unexpected enjoyable crossword. We say ‘unexpected’ because we normally get to solve your puzzles on Friday – not unexpected because they are not usually enjoyable! While writing up the … Read more >>
(Work in progress – Please click here for this same blog but with a picture quiz added. Please do NOT post hereinbelow any comment relating to the picture quiz. Thank you.) Pretty straightforward. … Read more >>
(Please post comments on ONLY the picture quiz hereinbelow. To post comments on the crossword puzzle, please click here.) Pretty straightforward. Thanks to Gurney. Definitions are underlined in the clues. Across 1 Effect of … Read more >>
A Quiptic with a theme from Moley this morning. Apologies for a brief blog – I am on a bit of a mission today. There was some stuff … Read more >>