Guardian 25,734 – Paul
I was pleased to see Paul’s name, as I always enjoy his puzzles. However the theme is not one of my strong points so I needed a bit of help… …the theme is … Read more >>
Andrew
Guardian Genius 110 – Picaroon
As the instructions say: “All clues are normal [phew!]. Half of the 28 solutions must be turned round and entered in the grid backwards.” This meant filling in answers in pencil until their … Read more >>
Guardian 25,729 – Araucaria
Good fun (with a few niggles) from the Guardian’s premier setter. The key answer at 9dn was a write-in, giving away the theme of Prime Ministers (all of the recent ones back to … Read more >>
Guardian 25,719 – Rufus
Apologies for a blog that is both late and rather brief – I’ve been distracted by urgent work-related matters. Anyway, this is Rufus in his usual style, with lots of double and cryptic … Read more >>
Guardian 25,715 – Brummie
To my surprise it seems to be almost exactly two years since I last blogged a Brumnmie puzzle. I said then that “I always feel a little nervous when I see Brummie’s name … Read more >>
Guardian 25,710 – Gordius
Yesterday’s puzzle from Paul would be a hard act to follow for any setter, and Gordius (not one of my favourite setters, as regular readers will know) suffers in comparison. Most of this … Read more >>
Guardian 25,705 – Chifonie
After an interesting and challenging week of puzzles we are back to rather more standard territory today. This is very much in Chifonie’s style, with a lot of charades (ten of them) and … Read more >>
Azed 2094
An Azed from the easy end of the spectrum, with almost entirely straightforward clueing, that I finished off in one shortish session. I don’t usually record these kinds of statistics, but I found … Read more >>
Guardian 25,695 – Rufus
A fairly standard Rufus, though with (I think) a larger helping than usual of anagrams, especially the three long acrosses. These should give a good start to the puzzle for those who sometimes … Read more >>
Guardian 25,691 – Qaos
This is Qaos’s fourth weekday puzzle since his debut in January this year. I actually solved and blogged this last night, then found I’d written a rather grumpy blog and decided to sleep … Read more >>
Guardian 25,681 – Chifonie
This felt a bit harder than a typical Chifonie, as if the clue structures were rather more involved than usual, though looking down the list of explanations there’s actually nothing very complicated. There … Read more >>
Guardian 25,671 – Rufus
I found this hard than average for Rufus, mainly because the structure of many of the clues (which is usually completely straightforward) is very well hidden in a smooth surface reading. I have … Read more >>
Guardian 25,667 – Paul
I was worried when my first pass though the clues yielded only a couple of answers, but persistence gradually paid off. The usual variety of witty clueing from Paul, though with none of … Read more >>
Azed 2088
I found this pretty hard for a plain Azed, with an above-average number of unfamiliar words. I got 10dn and 35ac early on, and found myself working up to the top left corner … Read more >>
Guardian 25,662 – Chifonie
Typically straightforward clueing from Chifonie, with lots of charades and anagrams. The last couple in the bottom right corner held me up at the end because of unhelpful crossing letters, but otherwise it … Read more >>