Guardian 27,789 – Pan

A very suitable puzzle for the Monday slot – not difficult, but not a complete walkover, and some nice surfaces. A couple of bits of UK-specific general knowledge might cause trouble to some. … Read more >>

Guardian Cryptic 27786 Arachne

An enjoyable puzzle with clues with nice surfaces. One can’t go wrong with Arachne, to whom thanks. Definitions are underlined in the clues. Across 7 In arrears, welcoming one pound to cash in … Read more >>

Guardian 27,784 / Brendan

Seeing Brendan’s name on a puzzle that I’m down to blog arouses rather mixed feelings… … there’s the pleasant prospect of an enjoyable solve, combined with the dread of missing the theme, especially … Read more >>

Guardian Quiptic 1011 Orlando

Thanks Orlando, for a neatly-clued, enjoyable puzzle that fits the Quiptic description. Definitions are underlined in the clues. Across 7 Everlasting cross goes inside and outside (8) EXTERNAL : ETERNAL(everlasting/never-ending) containing(… goes inside) … Read more >>

Genius 189 /Soup

March’s Genius challenge is provided by Soup. I note that Soup has been the December Genius compiler in 2016, 2017 and 2018 but I’ve never solved any of his puzzles myself, so I … Read more >>

Guardian Cryptic 27,781 by Enigmatist

Very tough going, with a quite a bit of checking and parsing after the fact. Favourites were 17ac, 26/6, 7dn, and 18/28. Thanks to Enigmatist for the workout. Edit: and congratulations to Enigmatist – thanks to crypticsue for pointing out that this is the 40th anniversary of John’s first Guardian puzzle.

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