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 26,262 / Imogen

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We found this a very enjoyable prize puzzle, although a fairly tough one, we thought – it took ages for us to get the theme… The rubric read: Eight thematic solutions, forming four … Read more >>

Guardian 26,238 / Maskarade

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I think this is the first time I’ve come up in the rotation to write the blog post about a big bank holiday puzzle, which is quite exciting. This was a themed puzzle … Read more >>

Guardian 26,214 / Maskarade

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An enjoyable enough prize puzzle from Maskerade; I had a few minor grumbles, but bar a couple of clues with unfamiliar references we found it a pretty easy solve. 1d was my favourite … Read more >>

Guardian 26,142 / Crucible

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(Apologies for the late appearance of this post – all my fault.) This was an excellent seasonal puzzle from Crucible, with a nice level of difficulty for a prize puzzle. The special instructions … Read more >>

Guardian 26,119 / Otterden

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I think this is only the second Guardian puzzle from Otterden, who sets the New Statesman crossword. As prize crosswords go, this was on the easy side, we thought, apart from three crossing … Read more >>

Guardian 26,071 / Bonxie

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A fun puzzle from Bonxie – probably on the easy side for a prize puzzle, but very enjoyable to work through. Thanks to NeilW for pointing out something I missed: there are lots … Read more >>

Guardian 26,047 / Araucaria

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Apologies for the slightly late post – I was just going to bed when I remember that I hadn’t written it this week… This is one of Araucaria’s alphabetical jigsaw puzzles, which we … Read more >>

Guardian 26,023 / Orlando

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It’s always a pleasure to solve (and blog about) Orlando’s puzzles, and this one was true to form. We found it on the easy side for a prize puzzle, but lots of fun … Read more >>

Guardian 25,975 / Puck

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A witty and entertaining puzzle from Puck, one of my favourite setters whose puzzles we don’t see so often. There’s a theme here of the Puck Fair (“Ireland’s oldest fair”) which is having … Read more >>