ilancaron

I kept an open mind about this but the APRIL FOOL theme was unavoidable — i.e. once the grid was full there was no obvious way to resolve the clashes other than to … Read more >>

I was held up rather badly by the SW corner — all because I hastily opted for ABAFT instead of ABACK (25D).  As a result, the mostly full grid lay fallow on my … Read more >>

Another case of forgetting it was my turn.  And then when I did start solving, I found out halfway through I was working on this week’s (2067).  Oh well.  Fortunately 2066 (and all … Read more >>

Almost finished. Solved in the tranquility of Zurich and Geneva – where I’m finding it harder and harder to overcome my urges to constantly break the rules. I started by crossing against red … Read more >>

A fairly straightforward Azed — relatively speaking.  The usual frequent excursions to the BRB.  But must be said, Azed is rarely if ever unfair and this is no exception.   Across 1 S(LACK … Read more >>

Solved intermittently at my desk at work while waiting for something or other.  Needed the BRB more than usual it seemed but maybe I have a short memory. Across 1 S(CREW,T)OPPED 11 CA,ECA … Read more >>

Didn’t find this very easy.  With at least one wordplay not completely decoded.  Wasn’t helped by what appears to be a typo in 1D. Across 1 FAT,WA[y] 8 K,ABAB – rev(baba=cake) 13 RU(R,[t]ITANIA)N … Read more >>

A rather incomplete effort since I’m travelling sans Chambers and only have an hour in between flights.  So… most of the bottom-right is undone and there are several wordplays left behind. All fixed … Read more >>

I tend to enjoy empty grids in the Carte Blanche style — it makes me think I’m doing something more than just “mindlessly” solving clues.  In this case, I got lucky guessing that 1A and … Read more >>

Appropriately enough, very much a tale of two halves for me. But in my case the top and the bottom: 1A came quickly enough and thus the top half. I stared at the … Read more >>

I missed the boat on this one. Later than I thought with this post. Work? Anyway, a couple of disappointing wordplays that escape me with a few very good clues with very well-hidden … Read more >>

I note that I totally skipped Azed 2000 — I should probably take a look at it (I’ve been slightly busy).  This one was done over a few days while waiting for long … Read more >>

By swapping blog duty with Peter, I think I accidentally managed to avoid Azed 2000 which I suspect will be more than the run-of-the-mill challenge. Across 1 S(PUDDING)IN – initial drilling of a … Read more >>

The standard, routine, par for the course, vanilla wordplays waiting for reader enlightenment. Across 1 BARON,G – it’s broad-bladed knife 6 M,AVENS – indeed AVENS is a rosaceous plant 12 ETOURD*,ERIE – stupid … Read more >>