Andrew

I started off on Everyman in The Observer, and began solving Azed while I was a student at Cambridge (reading maths) shortly after it started. I do the Guardian puzzle most days and others sporadically. In real life I work as a software developer (still in Cambridge), and for non-crossword recreation play the piano and am involved in amateur theatre.

Guardian 27,571 – Picaroon

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Picaroon never disappoints, and this puzzle is no exception, with a collection of elegant, ingenious and accessible clues. But there’s more: I suspected there might be a crosswordy theme when I saw LISTENER … Read more >>

Azed 2405

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I solved this quite quickly, but fully parsing some of the the clues took a while, and I’m not completely satisfied with my explanation of 11d, unless the clue is uncharacteristically loose, which seems unlikely. Thanks to Azed.

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Guardian 27,548 – Vlad

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A meaty challenge from Vlad today. I made slow progress at the start, but gradually speeded up as I went along, with some satisfying penny-drop moments. I can’t see any themes or Ninas … Read more >>

Guardian 27,534 – Vlad

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As usual with Vlad, there are a few easy clues to soften us up for the rigours to come: no walkover, but perhaps the impaling was less severe than with some of his work. Thanks to Vlad.

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Azed 2399

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I found this a bit harder than some recent Azeds, but as always the impeccable clueing, even of unfamiliar words, of which there are perhaps slightly more than usual here, leads to the … Read more >>

Guardian 27,527 – Picaroon

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A very enjoyable puzzle from Picaroon that looked rather impenetrable at first, with its many cross-references. I was lucky to guess 19d early on, which led me to the gateway answer at 26,1,10, … Read more >>

Guardian 27,520 – Pasquale

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Pasquale’s first appearance in the post-Rufus Monday slot finds him in very benign mood: after a single pass through the clues I had only a handful of gaps. Nevertheless the clear and accurate … Read more >>

Guardian 27,518 – Brummie

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Despite a few easy clues, I found this quite slow going, particularly in the NW corner, though for no obvious reason on looking back at it. Thanks to Brummie. There’s an impressive number … Read more >>

Guardian 27,497 / Vlad

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Mayday, Mayday, it’s Vlad! Such was my first reaction, but in fact this puzzle turned out to be relatively gentle, though still an enjoyable challenge. Thanks to Vlad.           … Read more >>