Never knowingly undersolved
Andrew A mostly enjoyable and not-difficult-for-a-Friday puzzle. A couple of strange clues with obscure but irrelevant references (10ac, 7dn) and a couple of weaknesses (18ac,9dn) Key: * = anagram < = reverse (no double … Read more >>
Not, as I’d expected, a St Valentine’s Day special, but a theme based on famous Belgians, of whom there are supposedly very few, though for its size Belgium in fact does pretty well. … Read more >>
As usual, good fun from Paul, with a couple of typically cheeky clues, and not too difficult. One or two minor quibbles, but nothing to complain too much about: in fact there are … Read more >>
A characteristically straightforward but enjoyable puzzle from Chifonie. There’s just one clue (3dn) where I think things have gone astray, but perhaps others can convince me it’s all right. Key: dd = double … Read more >>
Three Guardian blogs in a row – people will be getting sick of the sight of me! Anyway, a nice gentle Rufus for this snowy morning. I particularly liked 15ac and 27ac for … Read more >>
A tough puzzle from Brummie, with a theme that eluded me for some time. The first thematic answer I got was CLOSE, which made me think they were all cricketers. It was only … Read more >>
A fairly tricky puzzle from Arachne which I’ve been intermittently struggling with all morning in between trying to get some work done. Some nice clues, but I think 4dn is very poor, and … Read more >>
There seems to have been a bit of confusion on the blog scheduling front, with Azed 1911 not having been covered. In the interests of completeness I’ve taken the liberty of producing this … Read more >>
I found this mostly a little below average difficulty, but I think there’s an ambiguity in 1ac and a mistake in the wordplay of 13ac. This is the first Azed where the recommended … Read more >>
A themed puzzle from Araucaria, with 13 wordplay-only clues for capital cities (highlighted in blue below). I caught on to the theme early on by a lucky guess at PRAGUE, but still found … Read more >>
A straightforward puzzle with nothing particularly exciting and a few very easy clues. Key: dd = double definition cd = cryptic definition * = anagram < = reverse Across 1. TACTFUL (FACT ULT)* … Read more >>
My first day back at work after Christmas (boo!), and it’s back to traditional scheduling with a gentle Rufus puzzle. I’m unsure about my explanation of 19ac and unhappy about 26ac. Key: dd … Read more >>
Boatman’s third outing in the Guardian, and, completely by coincidence, my third chance to blog him. Another enjoyable puzzle, with some excellent clues – I particularly liked 25ac, 1dn and 19dn. Best wishes … Read more >>
A bit of a mixed bag today, with some very simple anagrams a a few nice clues, but also some rather weak ones, and a couple of obscure (to me) references. Key: dd … Read more >>
After Araucaria’s Miltonic epic and Paul’s Queen/Chess combo this week it was almost a relief to return to milder waters today with Chifonie. I found this mostly very easy, with just a couple … Read more >>