Everyman 3148/Jan 28 – monocled tunnel vision
Far ranging puzzle: from ENFIELD to the ACROPOLIS. I also learnt that under the Mersey there are several tunnels, and I thought the only way cross the Mersey was via ferry, a la … Read more >>
Observer
Everyman 3147/Jan 21 – Newton’s cradle
I had no idea that the mesmerizing 5 silver balls swinging back and forth on my desk was called a Newton’s cradle (17A). Across 3 DAY TRIPPE,R – (pity padre)* followed by R … Read more >>
Azed 1808 – Pearst off
My first Azed. Definitely hard work: I invested at least 3 hours total. The vast majority of words I had to extract from Chambers. Azed’s saving grace is meticulous clueing – and, in … Read more >>
Azed 1807 – Hel’s Bels
Solving time: About 45 mins without Chambers plus about 10 minutes with to check/finish off. One mistake (22ac), two I can’t explain (31ac and 2dn) – offers welcome. A quick scan suggests that … Read more >>
Everyman 3146/Jan 14 – do you know the way to San Jose?
Two American cities. Perhaps that qualifies as a theme? Across 1 MINNEAPOLIS – (pile, mansion)*. “Gothic” is somehow the anagrind. 7 S,CREW,UP – Really an Americanism – at least I only learnt it … Read more >>
Everyman 3145/Jan 7 – Polchard and neroli
A leftover xmas clue (7D) and two new words. The nice thing about Everyman is that Chambers isn’t strictly necessary usually if you have the courage of your wordplay convictions: e.g. POCHARD and … Read more >>
Azed 1805
A relatively easy Azed to finish the year. Quite a few tough words, and many that were new to me, but I was able to fill them in without checking the dictionary as … Read more >>
Everyman 3144/Dec 31 – Rechabite and fescue
Lots of black in this grid, but nonetheless a fair puzzle (good percentage of checked letters) and 28 clues with a couple of words that had me scouring Chambers (though hardly as much … Read more >>
Everyman 3143 – White Christmas?
This was last week’s Christmas Eve puzzle so not surprisingly another seasonal theme but not cloyingly so: some toboggans, crackers, a carol, a miracle, a portent and bit too much drinking. WHITE CHRISTMAS … Read more >>
Azed 1,802 – Vocabulary 7 down.
I did most of this on the tube, without Chambers, which is an interesting exercise – you have to make quite a few educated guesses and then corroborate them via the dictionary later … Read more >>
Azed 1800 “Sly Oaf” – excellent thematic crossword
Solving time 1:03:33. A rare thematic puzzle from Azed this week to mark puzzle no. 1800. There’s an extra letter in every clue which has to be removed before solving. These letters in … Read more >>
Azed 1799
Azed – A brief introduction If you regularly finish the puzzles in the “dailies” and fancy a new challenge then a barred crossword like Azed (or Beelzebub in the Independent and Mephisto in … Read more >>
Coming Soon – Azed
From this weekend, we will be covering the Azed puzzles that appear in the Observer. Reviews will appear each Sunday, which is the day after the official closing date for the prize draw. … Read more >>
Observer 3137/Everyman – Americanisms…
Done sporadically during a very pleasant afternoon in Geneva mainly drinking wine, eating ice-cream, coffee then dinner. Followed by more drink and cakes. After about 4 glasses of wine, crosswords don’t seem very … Read more >>