Guardian

I did the Times2 Concise today which is why “unfaulty” is on my mind. As per usual, I find Rufus’s style to be clean, with good surfaces and not very complicated wordplay. I … Read more >>

Solving time 13:30 Quite tricky this one – partly because of 22,11,12 which I didn’t get until many checking letters were in place – “C _ C _ / N _ _ _ … Read more >>

An appropriately knotty puzzle that left me defeated by two clues, offers welcome. A good range of treatments, with several homophonic puns, a nice spoonerism and a punctutation mark as well as the … Read more >>

Solving time 16:10 Conan Doyle must be second only to Shakespeare in having his work used in thematic crosswords. This one contains four 15-letter Sherlock Holmes stories. I didn’t spot the theme right … Read more >>

Rover has presented us with a good mix of clues, many of which use clever wordplay. I solved this crossword very quickly (less than five minutes), but didn’t always know at first reading … Read more >>

Following yesterday’s puzzle by Audreus, we are today presented by one compiled by Audreus’s son. This was a similar kind of challenge, with a few unusual words which were attainable through working out … Read more >>

I think this is the first time we’ve encountered Audreus – at least lately. Or at least first time I have on a Monday which is typically Rufus’s slot. I found myself filling … Read more >>

I managed to finish this but there are a number of answers that I still don’t fully understand. We usually only see this type of grid/theme combo from Brendan so it’s good to … Read more >>

A simple and somewhat uninspiring puzzle, unusually for a Friday. 14’s mildly misleading use of ‘suit’ stood out as most of the other clues were totally straightforward in definition and structure. Took me … Read more >>

Posted as the scheduled blog did not appear! 30 minutes (with one error!) From Paul’s very first appearance, it became clear that he possessed an amazing talent to provide the most wonderful puzzles … Read more >>

It’s 4am and yesterday’s Guardian hasn’t been blogged yet, so as I have ‘flu and can’t sleep I thought I’d fill the breach. Please excuse any mistakes. Easier than usual for Paul, I … Read more >>

Araucaria, love him or loathe him, rarely fails to produce an enjoyable puzzle to solve and you always learn something new to boot. This is typical fare – there aren’t many examples that … Read more >>

I did most of this puzzle within my 30 minute bus journey (the schools aren’t back yet!) However, I failed to get a couple of answers on the Eastern edge until a few … Read more >>

The things you learn: my basic knowledge of cricket and opera has increased significantly since I started doing cryptics regularly. A nice selection of Rufusian puns and cryptic definitions. You’d think there’d be … Read more >>

Solving time 33:50 It’s good to be writing our first posting about a kind of puzzle I’ve looked forward to ever since I started solving cryptic crosswords. Back in the late 1970s, when … Read more >>