Never knowingly undersolved
Andrew I was confidently expecting a Paul puzzle this morning, so it was a surprise to see Maskarade, who appears only rarely outside the bank holiday specials. In general I found this one pretty … Read more >>
I got off to a very slow start with this, and didn’t get much quicker as I went on. The grid didn’t help, with poor connectivity between the top and bottom halves. In … Read more >>
A moderately tricky Azed this week, and one where I often had the experience of constructing a possible answer from the wordplay and then confirming with Chambers that it really was a word … Read more >>
A typically enjoyable Picaroon puzzle, with a few tricky moments, but in general fairly straightforward. Thanks to Picaroon Across 9. CHIPOLATA Dash at a clip round horse, … Read more >>
This was very much a puzzle of two halves for me: I filled in all the right-hand side quite quickly, but the left took much longer. As usual with Pasquale we have a … Read more >>
A typical Vulcan puzzle, with a lot of easy clues and some less-than-inspiring cryptic puzzles. As you might guess from that faint praise, it’s not greatly to my taste, but those who like … Read more >>
Chifonie seems to have given up his regular Monday appearances, but even so it’s a surprise to see him on a Friday. Lots of very straightforward clues here, as usual, but there were … Read more >>
A few easier clues got me started, but generally I found this pretty hard. As one expects from Imogen, it’s all clearly and fairly clued in retrospect, though I have a couple of … Read more >>
This all went in pretty quickly, apart from the NW corner, which took me longer than the rest put together. It’s always worth looking for a theme in this setter’s puzzles, and here … Read more >>
It’s traditional for the last Azed of the year to be on the easy side, after the rigours of the Christmas special; so it was with this one, though it was by no … Read more >>
Philistine brings in the New Year with an entertaining puzzle.
After Chifonie’s unexpected appearance on Thursday last week, I wondered who it would be today, so it was a delight and surprise to see Brendan’s name, as we last saw him only two … Read more >>
This felt like a bit of a write-in at first, but some meatier clues slowed me down after a while. 25D helpfully points out that puzzle has a THEME, summarised by 9d, PARTS … Read more >>
I found this a bit of a curate’s egg, somehow lacking the Paul trademark wit; I wondered whether it might be (like another puzzle a few weeks ago) the result of one of … Read more >>
Another excellent puzzle from our favourite pirate, which revealed its secrets gradually and satisfyingly. Thanks to Picaroon. Across 1. INSURMOUNTABLE Cover put around album not working? It’s … Read more >>