Never knowingly undersolved
This year the theme is the Dumb Britain section which takes questions and silly answers that contestants to popular quiz programmes have provided. The trick is to guess what the flailing contestant might … Read more >>
As It Occurred To Me this week: I won 2nd prize in a contest! You’re right, it wasn’t a Beauty Contest and I wasn’t playing Monopoly. It was a crossword contest: The 2009 “3D … Read more >>
I expect there’s a fair bit of copper in one of Brenda’s crowns too.
Intro joke: What’s green and misty? (ans below)
Let’s get stuck into the detail:
That is, surface reading not found. After doing a lot of crosswords I tend to read clues for their cryptic meaning without noticing, or should I say savouring, the surface reading. An example … Read more >>
What a cock-up – They repeated 402 in the magazine – Have they been taking on ex-Grauniad typesetters? So this crossword 403 was only available on the Eye’s website . I expect we … Read more >>
One of those where most went in easily but I had to put myself to bed before a couple in the top left corner, so they had to wait till the next morning. … Read more >>
Thomas and Riddle of course. Who else would inhabit an Eye crossword … Not Tom Riddle, that would be … frightening. Perhaps as frightening as … Cyclops himself <Ta Da!> who visited … Read more >>
Number 400 Eh! We only get 26 issues of this esteemed organ each year – if we’re lucky – so I reckon that’s 16 years that Cyclops has been working at the sharp … Read more >>
Am I alone in finding this not too hard this time? I was getting a bit worried as my subscription copy did not arrive till Friday – which is at least a day … Read more >>
Trouble with overconfidently putting in a couple of answers this time caused hold-ups but nothing that couldn’t be sorted out in the same solving session. Across 8 PRITHEE (HI PETER)* AInd: outed 9 … Read more >>
Lots of anagrams this time with one interesting reverse anagram. That probably contributed to the feeling that nothing that was particularly difficult. I suspect I would have recorded a fast solve time if … Read more >>
A couple of topical answers to show the setting is reasonably up-to-date. From the moment it was announced I thought Antony Gormley’s 4th plinth effort was a nice idea, and he is one … Read more >>
Good stuff from Mr C in this issue. Some tricky clues which I don’t think I could get without the crossing letters, but plenty pencilled in after a first pass to get going. … Read more >>
Solving this went in waves. A smattering of easy clues were entered quickly (e.g. Louvre, Political Asylum) and I thought it would be an easy solve. Then I came to a halt and … Read more >>
Across 7 ENVELOP ENV[y] (POLE)* AInd: dancing 8 SLIGHT DD 9/16 PUBLIC DEMONSTRATION (DOMINANT POLICE BRUTES – [justic]E)* AInd: As broken up. What an apt long anagram and &Lit clue this was. Top … Read more >>