Guardian 24,825 / Orlando
A very enjoyable puzzle from Orlando, difficult enough to be a challenge but nothing outrageous. There are several nice clues where an anagram is cleverly concealed by the surface reading, Key: dd = … Read more >>
Never knowingly undersolved
A very enjoyable puzzle from Orlando, difficult enough to be a challenge but nothing outrageous. There are several nice clues where an anagram is cleverly concealed by the surface reading, Key: dd = … Read more >>
Another easy Rufus, with the usual crop of cryptic definitions, one or two of which I think are a bit lacking. Key: dd = double definition dd = cryptic definition * = anagram … Read more >>
This was definitely from the easy end of the Azed spectrum: I managed to solve all of it except 31ac without recourse to Chambers or other aids (though with some lucky educated guesses). … Read more >>
A nice challenge from Araucaria today, with almost entirely Ximenean clueing. I was particularly pleased to be able get the Shakespearian references in 1ac and 9ac without assistance. Key: * = anagram dd … Read more >>
Back to traditional Monday fare with Rufus. Ernjoyable and pretty easy going, though with a couple of words that are perhaps slightly obscure. I have one or two minor quibbles, noted below. Key: … Read more >>
I found this mostly very easy, with just a few clues preventing a complete walkover. I have quibbles about 12ac, 18ac and 3dn, but generally it was all pretty sound, if not terribly … Read more >>
I’ve been a bit unkind about Rover in the past, and I was hoping to be proved wrong in this one, but unfortunately there are a few rather weak definitions and a bad … Read more >>
A tough challenge from Paul that took me several sessions to complete, though looking back at it now there’s not much that seems particularly obscure or difficult. The crucial 8dn was actually one … Read more >>
A devilish theme from Araucaria today, and a puzzle of mixed difficulty, I found, with some rather obscure references. Key: * = anagram dd = double definition < = reverse Across 1. IRREMEDIABLE … Read more >>
After yesterday’s struggles with Enigmatist, I found this one mostly quite easy, except that 7dn stumped me for ages, and caused some problems with its crossing words too. Some tricky wordplay here, and … Read more >>
I’m standing in on this puzzle for Rightback, who is away. The 40th anniversary that was celebrated was the Woostock festival, which opened on 15 August 1969. There were also some links to … Read more >>
A delightful tribute to the late Albie Fiore by the double-act of Enigmatist and Paul. Naturally I was able to fill in 18ac immediately, but some of the other clues held me up … Read more >>
Apologies for the late posting: I’d got my dates confused and only realised I was supposed to be blogging this puzzle just before I had to go out for a few hours. I … Read more >>
Tough going with Araucaria today. I got 22/21 quickly, which led immediately to 15/14 and a couple of others, but still struggled to finish it. There were a few references that I had … Read more >>
Pressure of work has meant that this blog has been written in rather a rush, so apologies for any errors or typos. This seemed quite tough, but with Pasquale’s usual combination of fairness, … Read more >>