Azed 2390

We have a plain Azed competition puzzle this week …       Well it was presented as plain puzzle, but given the date of publication, it was a case of ‘Solvers beware’…. … Read more >>

AZED 2,389

Some wonderful new words this week.  Solving and blogging Azed really is a dictionary nerd’s delight.  Thank you Azed.

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Everyman 3726

Another sound puzzle from Everyman.         Of the 28 clues, there was one hidden reversed, one anagram and two dds; the remaining 24 were charades or insertions.  A bit of … Read more >>

Azed 2387

This all went in quickly and smoothly, with the application of quantities of educated guesswork, and just a bit of trouble finishing off the NW corner. Thanks to Azed.         … Read more >>

AZED 2,386

I found this harder than usual.  I made a decent start but then had to come back to the puzzle quite a few times to finally finish it off.  Thank you Azed

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AZED 2,385

A 13 x 11 grid for this week’s puzzle, which was carelessly printed in the paper as an 11 x 11 grid, with the two right hand columns omitted.  Fortunately, the pdf was correct.

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Everyman 3,723

The Observer crossword / Feb 18, 2018

Last week, Pierre started his Everyman blog with the lines “Everyman is such a good choice of cryptic for those new to them, or for those learning the ropes. Always carefully constructed and at a level of difficulty that should encourage people to have a go“.  I am not sure whether I fully agree with that. To me, the setter, the really excellent Colin Gumbrell, offers a bit more than just that, making his puzzles a joy for more experienced solvers too. And for bloggers!  🙂

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Azed 2384

We have a plain Azed this week.       I got a very long way into this puzzle before reaching for my copy of Chambers.  I don’t think I have ever got … Read more >>

Everyman 3722

Everyman is such a good choice of cryptic for those new to them, or for those learning the ropes. Always carefully constructed and at a level of difficulty that should encourage people to … Read more >>