Never knowingly undersolved
loonapick There aren’t many things more satisfying than that moment when solvers of the Inquisitor or The Listener experience when the device the setter has used to complicate the puzzle reveals itself. A light-bulb … Read more >>
A typical Araucaria crossword, which hinges on being able to solve one key clue. In this case the key answer was the one at 19ac. Once you have that worked out, the rest … Read more >>
Sorry for the lateness of this blog; I thought I was due to do Friday’s this week, and only realised that it was my turn when the puzzle hadn’t been blogged. Upon checking … Read more >>
As far as Inquisitors go, this puzzle by a compiler I have never come across before was relatively easy. Many of the clues were of a standard that would not be out of … Read more >>
I’ve blogged Quantum 3 or 4 times before, and I think I have been fairly mild with my criticism in each case. I don’t really enjoy solving a Quantum crossword, especially a waorkaday … Read more >>
Given the number of black squares in the grid and the lack of difficulty in this puzzle, I was expecting there to be a theme, but, if it’s there, I can’t find it. … Read more >>
Sorry for the delay in getting this blog ready, but I struggled with this puzzle, because I couldn’t work out the device required to fill the grid. As usual when I seek inspiration, … Read more >>
A typical Paul effort with clues ranging from easy to difficult, and a collection of words some will know, and others won’t. I quite enjoy the mental challenge of a Paul puzzle, but … Read more >>
This was quite tough for a Monday, with some obscure words mixed in with references to Shakespeare, mythology, ancient alphabets and poetry. All in all, it was enjoyable to solve, and took me … Read more >>
Chifonie’s puzzles tend to be fair and on the easier side. This one was no exception (solved in about 7 minutes), although I can’t work out the wordplay for 8dn, so if anyone … Read more >>
This puzzle is dominated by four long down entries. Once you have solved them, the rest of the answers become much easier to fathom out. It was generally fair, and there are some … Read more >>
For reasons I still don’t quite know, this puzzle took me ages to solve. When I look back on it now, it appears to be fairly straightforward as far as themed puzzles go. … Read more >>
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 >>
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 >>
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 >>