Handel

Another very approachable puzzle this week, which we finished in good time and without having to reach for any books, with the exception of ‘Bargee’, which was new to us (at least in … Read more >>

A gentler puzzle this week than last, with nothing to frighten the horses. 12ac was a real delight, and made us think for a while about the precision of wording needed in cryptic … Read more >>

We had all but three of these in place within 15 minutes, but didn’t manage to fill the grid until a day later because of three slightly tricky clues. 17ac has a very … Read more >>

A couple of unfamiliar words meant we couldn’t quite finish this unaided. Still, good to learn some new bits of vocab, and to remember ‘eclogue’, which was long forgotten from A-Level classical civ … Read more >>

The usual collection from Quixote here, with the three long answers all anagrams, as often seems to be the case. 14 and 18 down were both new words to us. ACROSS 5. VEGETABLE … Read more >>

We were very happy that Quixote went easy on us this week, as we completed this one with considerable hangovers after the joy of the Azed 2,000 lunch. Nothing too taxing here, but … Read more >>

A much easier outing this week than last, which H did comfortably over his lunch hour. Some very nice touches (16ac and 21ac were our favourites) together with unexotic vocabulary would make this … Read more >>

We made rather heavy work of this one, and had to resort to aids to get the last couple (21ac and 6dn).  There were lots of very well worded clues here, and that’s … Read more >>

A smooth and speedy solve this week, with only 24ac leaving us scratching our heads for a bit. The anagram at 15ac was enjoyable, as was the switch from the verb to the … Read more >>

This week’s IoS was of average difficulty we reckoned, taking just under half an hour. A number of enjoyable surfaces and a couple of words that were new to us. Only 19dn remains … Read more >>