Guardian Genius

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 >>

After two very tough offerings from Paul and Brummie, this required very little genius in either solving the clues or fitting the answers into the grid. An enjoyable enough puzzle, and a clever … Read more >>

As a newcomer to the Genius since the site went free, I found this OK but a little – not hard to get going with, but tough to finish because the entry method … Read more >>

Although I’ve been a subscriber to the Guardian crossword website for some years now, this is the first time that I’ve attempted a Genius crossword.  Having managed to complete this one without too … Read more >>

A challenging solve, especially for those unfamiliar with Paul’s somewhat libertarian approach; but plenty of fun, and I got through it pretty quickly once I’d solved about four. All answers begin with the … Read more >>

There were three kinds of clue here: 13 were ‘beset by inflation’ — they each included an extra letter. 13 were ‘beset by recession’ — a character string (not necessarily a whole word) … Read more >>

Solving time: 24 minutes.  One I tackled while in hospital.  Although it wasn’t the most satisfying of puzzles, it held me while I worked out whether each of the homophone double answers could … Read more >>

When I first downloaded this one, it lacked a preamble. Having solved it without one (not boasting or anything!), I returned to the website, where a brief preamble had been added. The principle, … Read more >>

The theme required solutions to be adapted before entry but said nothing of the clues. Noticing that the answer lengths were one or two less than the grid lengths this suggested some addition … Read more >>

Thematic answers are all types of of light, camera or action. These clues don’t have definitions, apart from the number referring to 1d, 2d or 3d. Once you work that out, without a … Read more >>

Solving time: a couple of hours or so This was harder than it looked on the surface. I’ve been solving the Listener puzzle for a couple of years now, so clues with a … Read more >>