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.

Azed 2369 – Jigsaw

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Presumably just by coincidence, this jigsaw puzzle appeared the day after an alphabetical jigsaw by Paul as the Guardian prize puzzle. I see that, also by coincidence, I blogged the two previous examples, … Read more >>

Guardian 27,348 – Imogen

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I found this slightly easier than Imogen can sometimes be, but nevertheless challenging in parts. Very elegant clueing throughout – thanks to Imogen.             Across 9. ADORE A … Read more >>

Guardian 27,339 – Vlad

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Perhaps slightly less fearsome than Vlad at full strength, but still some quite intricate parsings, including one of which I almost had to give up on. Thanks to Vlad for the challenging entertainment. … Read more >>

Guardian 27,332 – Paul

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I solved this more or less from the bottom up, finding the SE corner very easy but the rest much less so. A few bits of general knowledge needed, though nothing too obscure … Read more >>

Guardian 27,325 – Qaos

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At one point I had filled in three-quarters of the puzzle, with the NW corner completely blank. I finally managed it, improving my knowledge of massive trip hop artists and Croatian tennis players … Read more >>

Guardian 27,318 – Picaroon

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Picaroon is in philosophical mood today… …with the word “philosopher’ occurring in ten clues, and the philosophers themselves appearing in the answers, in full in one case, but usually as a part of … Read more >>

Guardian 27,309 – Qaos

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I found this a strange mixture: some very easy “beginner” clues (and a couple of rather vague/weak cryptic definitions), and others that I struggled over for ages, including one unknown word that even … Read more >>

Guardian 27,302 – Nutmeg

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Characteristic elegant and witty clueing from Nutmeg today. I don’t usually pay a lot of attention to surface readings, but there are some good ones here: hardly anything that “could only be a … Read more >>

Guardian 27,295 – Chifonie

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Typically straightforward clueing from Chifonie, though two names might be unfamiliar to some. As I said about Pan’s puzzle last week, pleasant enough but not very exciting. Thanks to Chifonie.       … Read more >>

Guardian 27,288 – Pan

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Mostly very straightforward clueing from Pan (who is a recent addition to the cryptic slot, after many years of setting Quiptics), with only 7d causing me any difficulty in parsing. Pleasant enough, if … Read more >>

Guardian 27,281 – Rufus

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Only three cryptic definitions today, and three doubles (or possibly 4+2). With mostly straightforward constructions in the other clues, I got through this very quickly, Thanks to Rufus           … Read more >>