Guardian Genius

I have now published the blog — see above.

As Geniuses go, this was on the easy side — the preamble was explicit about what needed to be done, and the clues were pretty straightforward. For those who missed the preamble, which … Read more >>

Four symphonies with nicknames provide the theme for this puzzle: the undefined anagrams lead to the composer (with a missing letter) and the nickname. The “clue of sorts” given by the missing letter … Read more >>

I found this extremely tough, unlike some of the earlier offerings in the Genius series. I still have a problem explaining a few of the clues. The main difficulty was simply the obscurity … Read more >>

This felt a little like a puzzle designed to test out a thematic entry technique. The clues were good, and the process of making new words by moving one letter produced some intriguing results and … Read more >>

A tough challenge from Paul that took me several sessions to complete, though looking back at it now there’s not much that seems particularly obscure or difficult. The crucial 8dn was actually one … Read more >>

This was, I think, the hardest Genius puzzle since the Guardian site became freely available. I only managed to solve just over a third of the clues in the first session and then … Read more >>

This was a entertaining, but aggressive crossword that took longer than it should have because I had  the wrong answer at 18d (KEG) for a while.  I thought to begin with that 18d was … Read more >>

Apologies for being late with this. A really enjoyable challenge from Brummie formed the April Genius puzzle and one which required wits to be kept about one at all times. Although there was … Read more >>

I found this to be the toughest Genius in a while, but very satisfying to solve. In each of the clues which must be changed, I have listed the clued answer first and … Read more >>

I am standing in at the last moment so it is now over a month since I completed this puzzle and therefore I don’t remember too much about the detail, though writing the … Read more >>

The hidden theme of this excellent crossword is “Composers”: most uses of the letter C in the clues should be read as “composer” for the clue to make sense. This perhaps wasn’t as … Read more >>

I found this puzzle fun to do, once I got the hang of how it worked. In each across clue, the definition gives a word containing either ASS, PIG, EWE or CAT; the … Read more >>

Another BOB DYLAN crossword, overlapping a recent Listener, although I am not sure why the focus was on Dylan in November. It’s not his birthday nor any other particular anniversary that I can … Read more >>