Never knowingly undersolved
A fun prize puzzle from Araucaria, with a mini theme of writers. We found this quite doable and as enjoyable as ever, but got rather stuck on BELL TENT – our last clue. … Read more >>
I’m back in business – if only just; in the aftermath of Sandy, after getting power back on Monday, on Wednesday an early winter storm blew in, dumping four inches of wet snow, and I was without power for another nine hours.
I think there might be some cries of ‘obscurity’ this morning but the less familiar [or unknown] solutions were all very fairly and clearly clued, I think. For me, the difficulties lay more … Read more >>
A puzzle of varied styles from Philistine, with clues ranging from the conventional, almost banal (e.g. 9ac, 10ac, 19ac) to the devious 17dn and the bizarre 1dn. Fortunately the easy ones provided enough … Read more >>
Not quite a smooth solve today as there were a few hard-boiled eggs (obscurities). Just glad that I managed to unravel all for this blog. Phew! Hold cursor over any clue number to … Read more >>
Typically gentle and pleasant from Rufus. Favourite clues 16ac and 13dn. Across 1 IMPRECISE =”Approximate” (price semi)* 6 POOL double def. =”People available”; =”a game” 8 INSCRIBE =”Write letters” IN + CRIB=”bed” inside … Read more >>
In case you think I have been hogging the blog recently, I am standing in again today for Peter O, who as a New York resident has been affected by Sandy. He is … Read more >>
Wow – thank goodness we get a month to do these – I take my hat off to those mentioned in the Grauniad’s dispatches with entries submitted in the early hours of the … Read more >>
A harder than usual prize puzzle this week, I thought. A theme exploiting two meanings of an old chestnut which often crops up in cryptic crosswords. Thanks to Paul for a satisfying challenge. … Read more >>
A highly entertaining, characteristically Paul puzzle today, with lots of witty, clever and misleading surfaces and wordplay, so plenty of smiles and ‘aha’ moments to help the solving along. Many thanks, Paul, for … Read more >>
This somehow didn’t feel like a typical Orlando while I was solving it, especially with the long answer at 5,11,18, which is more the sort of thing one expects from Araucaria or Paul. … Read more >>
Peter O is down to do the blog today, but since he lives in New York, he no doubt has other things on his mind this morning. So I have stepped in as … Read more >>
I always lament the last Sunday of October, which brings back melancholic memories of my first winter in Brrrritain. Now, in my hot humid tropical paradise, I bemoan the waste of an hour … Read more >>
Moley has produced a sound enough Quiptic this morning, I think, although there were one or two bits of inelegant cluing in my opinion. And, embarrassingly for a Quiptic, there’s one where I … Read more >>
A standard Rufus with the usual dds, cds and anagrams, and I guess the surface of 7 across is the nautical reference. Thanks Rufus. Definitions are underlined in the clues. [[The pictures at … Read more >>