Thanks to Vulcan for a Monday quickie.
Guardian 29,621 – Vlad
A tricky puzzle, as one would expect from this setter, but one where much of the parsing turns out to be “obvious” when you see it, which is of course a sign of … Read more >>
Andrew
Azed 2746
I found this mostly not to hard on the Azed scale, though a few clues held me up at the end, especially the crossing pair 30a and 22d. I have a couple of … Read more >>
Guardian 29,612 – Paul
I didn’t seem to be on the right wavelength at all this morning so found this quite hard, though in retrospect almost everything seems reasonably straightforward, with the exception of one clue that … Read more >>
Guardian 29,605 – Picaroon
Good to see another (final?) puzzle from the pirate before he goes into setting Purdah in his new job at the Telegraph. A smooth and witty set of clues, as we’ve come to … Read more >>
Guardian 29,598 – Brummie
A straightforward puzzle with no hidden theme that I can see, though you never know. Thanks to Brummie. Across 1 CHARGER It can energise a mobile horse (7)Double definition 5 FREIGHT Father … Read more >>
Guardian 29,591 – Qaos
Tuesday fun from Qaos, including one of his trademark numerical clues (and a couple of other mathematical references). Thanks to Qaos. .. and of course a theme: I was tipped off by seeing … Read more >>
Guardian 29,584 – Brendan
A welcome return by Brendan, with an unusual grid in which all the answers the two long central ones have eight letters. Thanks to Brendan. The long answers are nicely self-descriptive, and (as … Read more >>
Azed 2740 – ‘Christmas Playfair’
Several Azed bloggers, myself included, have commented that the appearance of a Playfair puzzle is a scary prospect, as it involved both cold-solving the italicised clues, and deducing the codeword from the answers and the crossing letters.
Guardian 29,582 – Yank
A few American terms and references in this one, as befits the setter’s pseudonym, but nothing too outrageous. I enjoyed this, though there’s one parsing I’m not sure of. Thanks to Yank. … Read more >>
Azed 2740 – no blog yet
The Azed Christmas puzzle has a stated closing date of 29th December. This is unusual in two ways: first by being a Sunday, and secondly by not giving an extra week, as is … Read more >>
Guardian 29,575 – Arachne
A Boxing Day treat to see a puzzle from Arachne – a fairly gentle one, to suit anyone who may have overindulged yesterday, but beautifully constructed as ever. Thanks to Arachne, and Merry … Read more >>
Guardian 29,569 – Imogen
I found this quite slow going: in retrospect most of the clueing is reasonably straightforward, though with quite a few double definitions. Thanks to Imogen. Across 1 STIGMATISATION Getting denounced, recollecting satanism? … Read more >>
Guardian 29,562 – Anto
Regular readers will know I’m not generally a big Anto fan, but I enjoyed this one. A bit of a science-y feel to it, though perhaps not enough to constitute a full theme. … Read more >>
Guardian 29,555 – Vulcan
In contrast to Friday’s puzzle from his alter ago Imogen, Vulcan gives us the traditional “gentle start to the week”, with a generous helping of cryptic definitions. Thanks to Vulcan. Across 1 … Read more >>