Guardian 24,085 – Araucaria – always a pleasure
When I opened the Guardian website today to see whose puzzle I’d be blogging, I had that familair sense of unease that comes from seeing the name “Araucaria”. Don’t get me wrong – … Read more >>
loonapick
Guardian 24,071/Brendan – “almost” easy
In my mind, while solving this puzzle, I was thinking that this preamble would say how easy this crossword was, then I came across a word I didn’t know, but was able … Read more >>
Genius 46/Brummie – “having one too many”
This was the least challenging Genius for a while, but it was an enjoyable solve, nonetheless. Once you solved the across clues, you were left with a fairly straightforward anagram, and the down … Read more >>
Guardian 24,064/Audreus – not too hard
A very quick solve (app 8 mins). Most of the clues were very straightforward and the wordplay acceptable. There were a few examples of superfluous linkwords placed in the clue to allow the … Read more >>
Guardian 24,062/Arachne – ducks, drakes and a dragon!
Apologies for the lateness and brevity of this post, but I have already blogged a Times and an Inquisitor today, and submitted a puzzle for publication in a charity newspaper, as well as … Read more >>
Inquisitor #16/Post Lottery by Loda
Solvers’ hint #1: Check the date before tackling a crossword – sometimes it makes the theme blindingly obvious very quickly.Bloggers’ hint #1: If you take your crossword folder on a plane, complete with … Read more >>
Guardian No 24,055/Chifonie – hmmm…?
I have to admit that Chifonie is not by favourite setter, and in my opinion, this puzzle has too many loose definitions/wordplay, and at least one clue I can’t parse (see below). Sorry … Read more >>
Inquisitor #14/Just in Case by Nutmeg
Just in time for Easter, Nutmeg provided us with a crossword about that most ubiquitous of nannies, Mary Poppins although more exactly, it was based on one word used in that movie. Generally, … Read more >>
Guardian 24,048/Quantum – quick post
Apologies for the tardiness and brevity of this post, but I have been at a full-day seminar in sunny Perth all day, so have not been able to get online until now. When … Read more >>
Guardian 24,046/Rufus – another CD collection
When you see that the compiler is Rufus, you know you are in for a glut of cryptic defintions, some more cryptic than others, and today’s puzzle had seven or eight of them, … Read more >>
Guardian 24,041/Shed – Religion? Bah, humbug!
An enjoyable and challenging Tuesday puzzle from Shed. Once you get the two longer answers, the rest is just clever enough to keep you interested, which is a good trick to carry off. … Read more >>
Inquisitor #12/Phi – Cousin R.I.P.
Despite the sombre occasion which inspired the theme of Phi’s puzzle, this was an enjoyable crossword to solve. The clues were not overly complex, and, despite taking an inordinate amount of time to … Read more >>
Guardian 24,032/Orlando – what does doordie mean?
I have found some of this week’s Guardian crosswords very challenging, and, given that I also had a Times blog to do today, was anxious that today’s would also be difficult. No such … Read more >>
Azed 1815 – online glitches?
The four longest entries in the puzzle were fairly straightforward, so I got off to a flier. I then attacked the rest of the puzzle, and quickly worked out or guessed most of … Read more >>
Inquisitor #10/Green Cross Code by Schadenfreude
This was the easiest Inquisitor of the year so far in my opinion. Once I had worked out that the entries at 13ac and 43ac led to the Seven Sages, and that 42ac … Read more >>