Azed

Solving time c. 45 mins in two sittings (without Chambers), but one mistake (or maybe more – see 8D). I’m surprised more crossword setters haven’t had fun with clues for FESTINA LENTE (35A). … Read more >>

When I made an error in a competition puzzle last year, after failing to confirm a guess in Chambers, Azed was kind enough to drop me a note pointing out my ‘lapsus calami’, with … Read more >>

The four longest entries in the puzzle were fairly straightforward, so I got off to a flier. I then attacked the rest of the puzzle, and quickly worked out or guessed most of … Read more >>

This review is brought to you by linxit and colinblackburn. linxit writes… After a good run of completed Azeds earlier in the year I’ve gone through a bit of a bad patch lately, … Read more >>

My first Azed blog, and I kinda left it to the last minute to start solving it (ie last night), but I got there in the end. Typical Azed puzzle, full of obscure … Read more >>

Solving time 16:05, without Chambers This is probably about as easy as Azed gets. Easy for me anyway, as 1A was a word I knew, and 9 first letters of relatively easy down … Read more >>

Solving time just 22:44 – I normally take at least twice that if not 3 times, so either I was on fire that day or it was a lot easier than usual…(but I … Read more >>

My first Azed. Definitely hard work: I invested at least 3 hours total. The vast majority of words I had to extract from Chambers. Azed’s saving grace is meticulous clueing – and, in … Read more >>

Solving time: About 45 mins without Chambers plus about 10 minutes with to check/finish off. One mistake (22ac), two I can’t explain (31ac and 2dn) – offers welcome. A quick scan suggests that … Read more >>

A relatively easy Azed to finish the year. Quite a few tough words, and many that were new to me, but I was able to fill them in without checking the dictionary as … Read more >>

I did most of this on the tube, without Chambers, which is an interesting exercise – you have to make quite a few educated guesses and then corroborate them via the dictionary later … Read more >>

Solving time 1:03:33. A rare thematic puzzle from Azed this week to mark puzzle no. 1800. There’s an extra letter in every clue which has to be removed before solving. These letters in … Read more >>

Azed – A brief introduction If you regularly finish the puzzles in the “dailies” and fancy a new challenge then a barred crossword like Azed (or Beelzebub in the Independent and Mephisto in … Read more >>

From this weekend, we will be covering the Azed puzzles that appear in the Observer. Reviews will appear each Sunday, which is the day after the official closing date for the prize draw. … Read more >>