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 29,493 – Pangakupu

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An enjoyable puzzle that I found mostly straightforward, though there are a couple of clues that I can’t parse to my satisfaction: please enlighten me. Thanks to Pangakupu. Looking for the traditional Māori … Read more >>

Guardian 29,486 – Fed

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A typically entertaining puzzle from this setter, with some quite involved parsing in places. Thanks to Fed.   Across 1 A FLEA IN ONE’S EAR Arrange safe area online to see rocket (1,4,2,4,3)Anagram … Read more >>

Guardian 29,479 – Qaos

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An entertaining puzzle for an overcast Wednesday morning. Thanks to Qaos. Looking for the inevitable theme, I see a number of words that can go with SALAD: FRUIT, OLIVIER (I had to check … Read more >>

Guardian 29,472 – Anto

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Some nice clues here – I liked the appropriate anagram in 9a – but also some niggles, as noted below. Thanks to Anto for the puzzle.   Across 1 BED HOPPER Spooner’s accused … Read more >>

Azed 2722

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A long answer at 1 across can be helpful in getting into a puzzle, but in this case I needed a lot of crossing letters to work it out. Apart from that it … Read more >>

Guardian 29,456 – Harpo

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A tricky one today from Harpo (aka Monk), with some unfamiliar (though helpfully clued) words. Thanks to Harpo. With AJAX, QADI and ZONE in the grid, I suspected a pangram, and indeed it … Read more >>

Guardian 29,449 – Pangakupu

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A fairly straightforward puzzle this morning, with the four multi-light downs providing lots of helpful crossing letters. Thanks to Pangakupu. Pangakupu puzzles usually have a Maori word or phrase hidden in the grid, … Read more >>

Guardian 29,442 – Vlad

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I’m feeling well and truly impaled by this morning’s puzzle, with lots of tricky (though of course ingenious) clues. There are a couple that I haven’t been able to parse, and I don’t … Read more >>

Azed 2716 – Spoonerisms

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The Spoonerism puzzle is a format invented by Azed that crops up every year or so. There hasn’t been one under the exact title since number 2551 in May 2021, but the last … Read more >>

Guardian 29,433 – Paul

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Paul is up to his old tricks today, with multi-light answers, cross-references and a couple of outrageous “homophones”. With Enigmatist and Vlad, and now this, it’s been a tough week. Thanks to Paul … Read more >>