Our longest-standing provider of Guardian Quiptics, Hectence, is on the oche today.
Day: 23 November 2025
Independent on Sunday 1,865/Filbert
I often struggle with a Filbert Sunday puzzle, and this one certainly had some intricate wordplay; but it fell out nicely in the end.
Gemelo No. 15 – it could be verse
A nice crossword from Gemelo but probably not one of his most difficult. The construction is often quite simple and one just has to see it.
He has made a rod for his back by having the clues written in iambic pentameter with an ABAB rhyme scheme. This is very clever and must have made it quite difficult for him, but I can’t see the point. The solver is in just the same position as normal; all the extra difficulty is with the setter: one can admire his ingenuity but doesn’t have to do anything special.
Definitions underlined, in crimson. Anagram indicators indicated (like this)*.
Everyman 4,126, 16 November
An enjoyable outing from Everyman