I seem to detect a range of clue devices a little more limited than usual for Everyman, but the smooth surfaces are par for the course.
Observer
Everyman No. 3424 (20th May)
Lorraine: Good morning to you all, yet again another fine example of a lovely Everyman crossword. No problems this week, particular favourites were, 1, 20 and 23ac and 5, 7, 9 and 13dn. Thank … Read more >>
Azed 2085
This was a standard plain crossword from Azed. As usual in an Azed crossword, there were a number of uncommon words, some with Scottish links. However, I felt that today’s assortment of words were … Read more >>
Everyman 3423/13 May 2012
I always look forward to blogging the Everyman puzzle, because there’ll be plenty of inventive but gettable clues and a wide range of references that often have me going off on a tangent … Read more >>
Azed 2084/Kibbutz HaOgen
Oddly enough my last clue was the one I should have recognized immediately (since I used to live on a kibbutz) — namely, 15A. On which I think Azed made a slight mistake. … Read more >>
Everyman No. 3422 (6th May)
Lorraine: Good morning one and all, lovely puzzle this week, I enjoyed it tremendously. Lots of favourites, 4, 14, 26 and 27ac and 1, 5,6, and 19dn. Big thank you to Everyman, this was … Read more >>
Azed 2083
The usual Azed solve: excellent sound clueing and a large number of words that you never knew existed. Across 1 BEWITCH — the competition clue-word 7 ASTI{r} 10 ATHAPASCAN — (Apach{e} Satan)* although … Read more >>
Everyman N° 3,421 (29 April)
I have not been able to polish this blog as intended, as I am coming off a bout of flu, but I think its is all there.
Azed 2082
This was very much a puzzle of two halves for me. I rattled off the left-hand side very quickly, helped by the easy anagram-based clues at 1ac and 1dn, but then stalled somewhat … Read more >>
AZED No. 2,081 Plain
Nick: Fairly easy Azed his week, 6/10. There are two ‘gotchas’ if the solver guesses rather than solve the word play, namely 10dn and 26 dn. Across 1. Weekend on British river – one … Read more >>
Everyman No. 3420 (22nd April)
Lorraine: Good morning to you all, I start this week by thanking Everyman for a most enjoyable puzzle. I managed to romp through this weeks offering fairly quickly. Lots of favourites, to numerous to … Read more >>
Azed 2,080
An unusual grid construction in this week’s Azed gave us rather more 4-letter words than usual, as well as the usual quotient of obsolete, foreign (particularly French) and downright obscure words. The 4-letter … Read more >>
Everyman 3419/ 15 April 2012
Another pleasing Sunday morning solve from Everyman, with a wide range of references. Fewer anagrams than usual from this setter, but still an accessible puzzle with a nice range of cluing devices. And … Read more >>
Everyman No. 3418 (8th April)
Lorraine: Good morning to you all. This weeks offering was rather difficult I felt, so once again I had to enlist Nick’s help. I hope you all faired better than me. Thank you to … Read more >>
Azed 2079
It’s often said that you know you are right when you complete the last stage of a Listener puzzle properly. I think the same can be said of the parsing Azed’s clues. If … Read more >>