mhl

Although I had some early attempts to solve cryptic crosswords as a teenager, it was only in my late 20s (and mostly thanks to fifteensquared!) that I became reasonably competent as a solver. However, despite being a slow solver I found that I had a knack for parsing clues, and volunteered to do a weekly blog post on the Guardian crossword. After a few years, I had to drop down to being on the Guardian Prize rota, but eventually found that with two young children to look after, I didn't have time even for that. I'm still hoping to resume blogging more regularly when they're a little older!

Guardian 24892 / Rufus

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The usual excellent Monday crossword from Rufus – a few somewhat tricky clues, I thought, and lovely surface readings throughout. I hope everyone had an excellent Christmas. (I’m afraid I won’t be able … Read more >>

Guardian 24890 / Crucible

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This is the fourth crossword by Crucible for the Guardian, as far as I can tell. (This setter more frequently appears as Radian in the Independent.) There are plenty of clever (and tricky … Read more >>

Guardian 24885 / Chifonie

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Quite a tough puzzle today, I thought, with a few words I wasn’t familiar with – these were all quite guessable from the clues though. Across 1. PESTERED P = “Penny” + (STEERED)* … Read more >>

Guardian 24880 / Orlando

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An enjoyable puzzle today, with nothing too difficult apart from the reference in 11 across, I thought. Across 1. POTHERB PB = “Lead” around OTHER = “different” 9. TRURO TRU[nk] RO[ad] 10. ANNOYANCE … Read more >>

Guardian 24866 / Pasquale

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I found this rather hard work, but with lots of excellent clues – 25 across in particular. Across 1. NICODEMUS (DEMONIC)* + US = “American”; In chapter 3 of John’s gospel, Jesus tells … Read more >>

Guardian 24861 / Paul

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Many fun clues today, as you’d expect from Paul, and some interesting words. I found this much more difficult than a typical Paul crossword for some reason. Across 1. BANG UP PUG = … Read more >>

Guardian 24856 / Gordius

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I enjoyed this one – quite a few nice clues. (3 of my last 8 blog posts have been on Gordius puzzles, as it turns out…) Across 4. SADDEN ADD = “increase” in … Read more >>

Guardian 24842 / Gordius

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Apologies for the late post – I’m afraid I woke up late in an inconvenient time zone, don’t have access to a printer, found my online Chambers subscription had run out (and it … Read more >>

Guardian 24832 / Brendan

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As usual, a really top quality puzzle from Brendan – great surface readings and some surprising wordplay. Thanks to IanN14 for pointing out the theme of U.S. presidents, Franklin PIERCE, Abraham LINCOLN, Andrew … Read more >>

Guardian 24818 / Paul

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Excellent stuff from Paul today; we made steady progress through this last night and completed it without having to look anything up, so I think the difficulty’s about right. My particular favourite is … Read more >>

Guardian 24813 / Brummie

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We enjoyed this and just missed out 8 down, so it’s probably a good difficulty level for a daily puzzle. I particularly liked the surface readings of 9a, 10a, 3d and 12a. Update: … Read more >>

Guardian 24808 / Gordius

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Not too tricky for a Gordius puzzle, but with a few that needed some time to work out the wordplay. [Links to the puzzle as HTML, PDF and Java Applet] Across 1. LANCELOT … Read more >>

Guardian 24798 / Rufus

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I’m afraid I’m under thesis deadline pressure this week, but my partner very kindly offered to write notes on this one, so I’m just reposting what she wrote… [Links to the puzzle as … Read more >>