Never knowingly undersolved
I’m lucky enough to draw a Puck puzzle again today – and I think it might prove to be a marmite one. The theme is overtly musicals, which I know are not everyone’s … Read more >>
A very pleasant start to the morning. Thank you Chalmie. ACROSS 1 DEPUTISE Some in the audience sit up, edgily backing substitute (8) found reversed (backing) inside (some in the…) audiencE SIT … Read more >>
With Dac we became used to Wednesdays being a fairly gentle day, and the gentleness continued after his death. Eimi evidently wants to call a halt to this, not for the first time … Read more >>
Thanks to Basilisk. Definitions are underlined in the clues. Across 1 Put out broadcast developed with no old characters (6) PEEVED : Anagram of(broadcast) “developed” minus(with no) “old“(… characters). Defn: Upset by someone. … Read more >>
Another puzzle from Ifor, only a couple of months after his previous one in late March. Preamble: Down clues are in normal order, and their answers are entered normally. Each contains a … Read more >>
Having waited for over a year for the pleasure of blogging Vigo’s most recent puzzle, we’ve hit the jackpot again with today’s! As with the last Vigo, we found it to be a … Read more >>
A very enjoyable solve, and not too tricky. I especially liked 25ac, 28ac, and 8dn – other favourites were 9ac, 11ac, 7dn, and 11dn. …I strongly suspect a theme, but haven’t been able … Read more >>
It’s been a little while since my last Slormgorm. An interesting puzzle with quite a few write-ins and then some less natural connections (for me). Overall an enjoyable challenge. Admittedly had to double … Read more >>
I think this is Shabbo’s first appearance in the Independent, or in any of the papers covered by Fifteensquared. Always good to meet a new setter, especially one who can produce a puzzle … Read more >>
Pan is one of our longest-standing Quiptic setters, and she has given us a pleasing Quiptic this morning that generally does what it’s supposed to, but is marred by a couple of editing … Read more >>
I found this a bit harder than usual for Vulcan, probably because of the large (some might say excessive) number of double definition clues. There are also several that I’ve labelled as “double/cryptic … Read more >>
A wide variety of references from Cyclops this fortnight, from a popular 70s TV show to the current pandemic, with Trump, Johnson, Clegg and Elizabeth I getting mentions in the clues…
Very entertaining. Thank you Hoskins. ACROSS 1 OPTICIANS Might they make one better-looking? (9) cryptic definition 6 ADAPT Change a lawyer gets with pint (5) A DA (lawyer) with PT (pint) … Read more >>
It’s the first Monday in May and up comes a most enjoyable tussle with Vlad. We were told that: Twelve thematic solutions are to be entered in the grid incompletely. Their clues contain … Read more >>
Everyman’s distinctive style continues with another reasonably straightforward crossword. A good range of different clue constructions here, including a few examples of clue-as-definition (though I thought these were somewhat contrived; perhaps Everyman did … Read more >>