Never knowingly undersolved
Simon Harding A nice round number this week, and a nicely-rounded puzzle from Quixote to complement it. *=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone, cd=cryptic definition, dd=double definition. Across 1 HENRY THE FIRST – (FRESH ENTRY HIT)*. 8 … Read more >>
Drawing a Scorpion on a blogging day is always a little daunting, and this was a thorough workout. Many of this week’s entries are towns on or near the River Thames. It will … Read more >>
A relative quick start and a slow finish for me this week, not helped by overconfidently writing in some non-existent words. I’m not sure if there’s something going on here that I can’t … Read more >>
A pretty tough week for Beelzebub, I found, taking me several sessions over the course of the week to complete. *=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone, cd=cryptic definition, dd=double definition. Across 1 WATER BOATMAN – … Read more >>
I don’t know about you chaps, but I found this week’s Quixote a bit of a challenge. That was possibly due to there being several unfamiliar terms involved (11ac, 16ac and the conductor … Read more >>
I regularly used to struggle with Nimrod puzzles when I was blogging the daily Independent puzzles, and it’s nice to see that some things don’t change. In fact, once again I was saved … Read more >>
A relatively tractable solve for the most part this week, with some rather playful clueing. I did have to check a small number of entries in Chambers though. Finally, 20dn required some creative … Read more >>
A slightly strange week for me. I found this quite tough going and ended up writing in quite a few without following the wordplay. Strangely enough, everything seems perfectly clear on blogging, though … Read more >>
Nothing too troublesome this week, I think. Another pleasant Sunday solve. *=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone, cd=cryptic definition, dd=double definition. Across 1 LIEU – potential hom. of “loo”, depending on one’s accent. 4 BISECT … Read more >>
Another unaided solve this week, although I admittedly made a couple of slips which I was later able to correct by checking Chambers. *=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone, cd=cryptic definition, dd=double definition. Across 1 … Read more >>
Something a little bit different from Phi here, to mark New Year’s Day. This week’s puzzle has a preamble, which tells us: Seven answers are suitably modified before entry to reflect the season. … Read more >>
I believe this to be the one hundredth Beelzebub I have blogged here, and it was something a little different to celebrate the Christmas season. The preamble told us that: Solvers can choose … Read more >>
Judging by the mess I’ve made of the grid, I must have found this one pretty tough going. Having said that, on blogging there doesn’t appear to be anything particular troublesome in there. … Read more >>
An enjoyable, festive-themed Quixote today. All scrupulously fairly clued as always, though the NE and SW corners put up a bit of a fight for me. Still, it all came together in the … Read more >>
Perhaps a shade tougher than last week, but things fell into place relatively smoothly. There are a couple (5dn and 23dn) where I can see roughly what’s going on, but haven’t quite nailed … Read more >>