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Solving time: 7 mins This was my fastest solve of a Saturday puzzle for a while, so must have been easier than usual, even for a non-Araucaria week. Only 20dn (REMARK) caused any … Read more >>

Solving time: about 15 mins A while ago I was playing Articulate! when the name Anton Chekhov came up. This was described to my team as “a Russian chess player”. Easy, we thought. … Read more >>

Solving time: 9 mins A very good puzzle from Taupi with a couple of superb anagrams at 1ac and 8dn. 14ac (CLEAN) caused me the most trouble, but overall I thought this wasn’t … Read more >>

Solving time: 70 mins, 4 wrong/missing (45dn, 52ac, 33dn, 1ac) After 5 minutes I had solved two clues so was quite pleased to get most of this cracked in an hour, especially since … Read more >>

Solving time: 18:42, almost half of which on three clues. I enjoyed this but got stuck on 16dn (ALFRESCO), 21dn (WHALE) and finally 8dn (FULMINATED). Other than the ‘bard’s friend’ in 21dn there … Read more >>

Solving time: 12:05 The seven answers clued without definition were all types of film: biopic, blaxploitation, horror, blue, western, feature and noir. Once this was cracked I thought this puzzle was probably on … Read more >>

Solving time: 15:50 Perhaps one of Araucaria’s easier puzzles, although the last couple of clues, HATCHERIES and DARNLEY, stumped me for a good while. I thought 9ac (SOPRANO) was the best clue. Music … Read more >>

Solving time: 8:54 A very enjoyable puzzle from Paul with no theme that I could see but a marvellous new word for me at 12dn. Music of the day: the magnificent 5dn, Dies … Read more >>

Solving time: Gave up on 3dn and 6dn after 15 mins. Maybe I should have spent longer on the two I couldn’t solve before turning to references, but the problem was that there … Read more >>

Solving time: 17:30 The preamble said that this was a ‘Fourth of July’ offering, the manifestation of which was the appearance of the word ‘state’ in many of the clues, sometimes referring to … Read more >>

Solving time: 13:44 This seemed about average difficulty for Paul, though I think I made heavy weather of it. As always there are some extremely inventive clues, and the lack of hyperlinks in … Read more >>

Solving time: 20:43 Another impressive ‘Araubetical’ with answers beginning with each letter of the alphabet. Most of the difficulty for me came from getting started on the grid rather than the clues per … Read more >>

Solving time: 16 mins A rare appearance for Biggles, and possibly a first in the lifetime of this blog. I believe this pseudonym is a conglomeration of the four setters that feature in … Read more >>

Solving time: 13:43 This puzzle was themed around bandleaders, of which an impressive 11 appear in the grid, plus BANDLEADER itself at 21/19dn. The wordplay to the thematic entries (asterisked below) must have … Read more >>

Solving time: 10:27 This grid is normally a stinker (it has twelve 9-letter words each with only four checked letters and its four quarters are connected by just a single square each at … Read more >>