Azed

In this puzzle, which features a 13 by 11 grid, Azed gives us 3 long answers both across and down.  The puzzle also includes a larger than usual number of 4 letter words, … Read more >>

17:30 21 October – corrupted data in the file has been removed – the blog now reads correctly. This was a Carte Blanche Competition Puzzle from Azed where solvers were presented with a … Read more >>

Due to an error in some editions of the Observer last week, the closing date for entries for this puzzle has been extended by a week. As a result, the relevant blog will … Read more >>

I found this somewhat harder than usual fare.  Maybe I was distracted but it took more than a couple of hours to crack. Across 1 APPL(ERING)IE[d] – yes, a type of wormwood I … Read more >>

As always.  It speaks for itself. I know it isn’t Sunday yet, but there is only just over an hour to go, so there shouldn’t be a problem. There won’t be any mail … Read more >>

Definitely one from the hard end of the Azed scale. Starting this last Sunday morning, I failed to solve more than a smattering of clues, so I put it aside and didn’t get … Read more >>

Nick:  Typical Azed this week, …with all the usual Azed devices. Anyone under 30 (I guess) would have struggled with 15ac, but once the checked letters are in only one word fits, so can … Read more >>

My first blog of an AZED as bridgesong is away at the moment.  I guess it must be at the easier end of the AZED spectrum as I completed the puzzle in a single … Read more >>

This is the first non-standard Azed puzzle that I have blogged for some time.  I found it a pleasant change from the normal fare.       There was a preamble to this … Read more >>

Sitting on the dock by the bay as we speak.  But in Seattle waiting for a flight to the San Juans.  Where I will have no internet access.  Fairly easy standard fare from … Read more >>

I’ve bitten the bullet and have provided the clues. It had always seemed to me to be unnecessary since anyone who has done the crossword must know what the clues are, but everyone … Read more >>

Another high-quality set of clues in a Plain Azed – overall about middling in difficulty, I think, with nothing particularly devious this time, though I’m not entirely convinced by my explanation of 26d. … Read more >>

Nick:  Fairly easy Azed this week, which I give 4/10 on the Azedian hardness scale, as I completed this puzzle before I left for work Sunday morning at 10:00, in about 80 minutes … Read more >>

Some considerable subtlety on display this week, some of which may have eluded me. There are of course all the usual Azed features of obscure words, and ingenious clues, this week displayed in … Read more >>

A plain Azed puzzle today, with no tricks or clue adjustments.       I found this to be a fairly standard Azed.  I am not 100% sure about the parsing of 3 … Read more >>