Never knowingly undersolved
The puzzle may be found at https://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/cryptic/28241. As a crossword with very few easy answer, I found this challenging, particularly for the cross-references, but very well crafted, and worth the effort. There are … Read more >>
A reasonably tough challenge from Imogen today, with one or two tricky bits of parsing but I think I got there in the end. The clues are, on the whole, elegantly constructed, with … Read more >>
Plenty to enjoy here – I particularly liked 6ac, 9ac, 21ac, 1dn, 3dn, and 5dn. Many thanks to Brendan for the puzzle. 13ac INNER CITIES refers to the city names hidden inside the … Read more >>
Thanks to Hectence for a nicely tuned Quiptic. Definitions are underlined in the clues. Across 1. Very fine biscuit with no excess fat (5-4) WAFER-THIN : WAFER(a thin crispy biscuit) + THIN(with no … Read more >>
I haven’t always been a big fan of Anto’s puzzles in the past, but I enjoyed this one: a few slightly quirky moments, but some nice touches as well. Thanks to Anto. … Read more >>
I found this a quite tough but, as usual with Tramp, enjoyable challenge. One thing that made it hard to get started was the unusual paucity of anagrams, which are always good for … Read more >>
The four long downs can make this grid rather intimidating, but Picaroon fills and clues it with great style, as usual. Thanks to him for another enjoyable puzzle. … Read more >>
Thanks Vlad for the challenge. Definitions are underlined in the clues. Could some of the clues refer to the 2down “fiasco”. Across 1. Sneakily managing to get rid of women’s sport (7) ANGLING … Read more >>
The puzzle may be found at https://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/cryptic/28234. I seem to be cornering Qaos puzzles, which is OK by me. As for a theme (is is Qaos, after all), it is announced at 11A … Read more >>
A typically elegant and witty puzzle from Nutmeg today. Many thanks to her for the fun. Definitions are underlined in the clues. Across 1 First chapter on one subject (5) TOPIC TOP (first) … Read more >>
As always, I enjoyed solving and blogging this offering from Matilda. One or two devices that newer solvers might have been unfamiliar with, but learning new stuff is part of the enjoyment, no? … Read more >>
A little tricky for a Monday, and good fun – my favourites were 11ac, 24ac, 5dn, 20dn, and 21dn. Thanks to Vulcan for the puzzle. ACROSS 1 MEAN BUSINESS Perform decisively in shabby … Read more >>
The instruction “the wordplay in each clue leads to a solution where two letters require an elementary substitution before entry in the grid” may have been intended as cryptic , but I guessed … Read more >>
Maskarade’s traditional Bank Holiday weekend giant puzzle – but one of the less complicated versions. The preamble says: The wordplay of 29 clues lack a theme word to reach the required solution. These … Read more >>
A very enjoyable puzzle today – my favourites were 11ac, 17ac, 26ac, 21dn, and 22dn. Lots of thanks to Shed ACROSS 8 ZUCCHINI South African (half-cut) visits Sark etc, receiving cheers (also half-cut) … Read more >>