Never knowingly undersolved
John Only one or two rough edges this week. The Everyman crossword is getting better and is moving towards becoming what it says on the packet, a good sound entry-level crossword like the old Everyman. Are the rhyming clues 8dn and 13dn? Or 12ac and 16ac?
Definitions in crimson, underlined. Indicators (anagram, hidden, reversal, etc) in italics. Letters omitted are [like this].
I’ve blogged only four of these crosswords so far and think they’re improving. Initially there seemed to be a few rough edges, but now everything works well and I hardly make any criticisms here. People tend to point out long clues that rhyme or are in some way alliterative, but I often don’t notice these and a quick glance doesn’t show me anything in this crossword. What I do notice is that there is always so far as I can see a mention of Everyman somewhere in the clues; and I have noticed what has been mentioned, the obligatory first letters clue.
Definitions in crimson, underlined. Indicators (anagrams, hidden, first letters, etc) in italics.
A pleasant crossword. I make a few criticisms, but while some of them may be justified, some of them may be simply down to my own inability to see what’s happening.
Definitions in cadet blue, underlined. Indicators (anagrams, hiddens, homophones etc.) in italics
Quite a challenge in places, with some nice clues. I found fault with a bit, as explained in the blog, but these were small criticisms and overall it was enjoyable.
All indicators (anagram, hidden, homophone, deletion, reversal etc) in italics. Definitions inderlined.
The Everyman used to be excellent. Then its setter retired and it went through a short period of being rather unsatisfactory. Now it seems to be returning to its previous standard — harder, … Read more >>
A very pleasant and satisfactory crossword from Dill today. On the whole I found it gentle (although perhaps I haven’t seen all its complexities) but the fact that it was usually easy doesn’t … Read more >>
Tees’s crosswords were once full of cultural references and one needed a rather good general knowledge to cope. But in this, everything was quite gentle and by my standards I raced through it. … Read more >>
It is always a joy to be blogging a puzzle by Klingsor — he is one of the setters I seek out. This one was perhaps a bit less challenging than sometimes, but … Read more >>
The usual thoroughly satisfying crossword from Phi. He must produce these very quickly, yet they are always beautifully crafted. Definitions in maroon, underlined. Anagram indicators in italics. Phi hardly ever has less than … Read more >>
That was a workout. Really hard work at times, and with 34 clues, some of which were uncomfortably long and took ages to parse, the whole thing took me a good while. But … Read more >>
Rodriguez hasn’t appeared since April 2017 and I’d never heard of him or her — must have forgotten. I was expecting a newcomer who was possibly very easy (it being Wednesday), something that … Read more >>
Hard work, but on the whole very pleasing. There were lots of nice clues, but I came unstuck in the SE corner; some of the clues there were terribly hard. Otherwise I enjoyed … Read more >>
As I’m pretty sure I’ve said before, week after week we go on getting crosswords of a high standard from Phi. I can’t find anything here that is at all controversial, and my … Read more >>
My goodness that was hard. But not for any reason I can see — all the clues make perfectly good sense in retrospect and seem quite straightforward. It was a really good crossword, … Read more >>
When I knew whose crossword I was going to be blogging the preamble was forming in my mind: as Tees has become more frequent he has become easier; very good, but quite gentle. … Read more >>