Never knowingly undersolved
A fairly quick solving time, at least relative to the previous Alberich vs Smiffy head-to-head form-book. As usual, plenty of hallmark precision engineering (or should that be precision artistry?) in evidence. 3D, 8D, … Read more >>
Monday Prize Crossword on 5 April 2010 Once again, we get back our Monday mainstay, Dante who never fails to entertain us with his slick and smooth surfaces and his cryptic definitions (which … Read more >>
Prize puzzle from the Weekend FT of April 3 I enjoyed this Cinephile puzzle, especially 23A and 1&2D. I do not fully understand 18D. Across 1. NOSE JOB – NOSE (snoop) + JOB … Read more >>
I found this very easy, solving time 13 mins. anagram = * reversed = < ACROSS 1 SPECKS Kid in SPECS 5 TELEMANN German composer who I’d not heard of but managed to … Read more >>
Some unusually easy clues in today’s puzzle from Cinephile, offset by a couple that needed something a bit more than general knowledge. I found it a relatively gentle start to the morning. The … Read more >>
A fair but rather tricky puzzle for a week day, largely due to a few obscure or archaic words. There’s a nice set of “reversed clues” where the answer might clue some words … Read more >>
Another themed puzzle from Virgilius. There didn’t seem to be anything too difficult here, especially as the theme was very clearly signposted in 15ac. I did, however, learn about a couple of previously … Read more >>
There was a bit of a theme here with words for various kinds of frivolity. However, I’m afraid this puzzle was not as much of a “lark” or a “hoot” as it might … Read more >>
Quite a heavy-going and stodgy offering from Gordius with some strange words and weird constructions; some which escaped me. The one shining and lustrous pearl of the morning was that superb cryptic definition, … Read more >>
A mixed one for me, initially thinking I’d be done in record time, but eventually almost failing to finish at all. 5dn is yet to be explained. *=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone, cd=cryptic definition, … Read more >>
*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone, CD=cryptic def, DD=double def, sp=spoonerism A solid rather than spectacular puzzle which I finished fairly quickly, although there were a couple that lost me completely and some others I … Read more >>
I found this more straightforward than last week’s Rufus but, I thought, rather lacking in the expected sparkle. There are the usual fine surfaces but some rather tired wordplay, including AD = notice … Read more >>
I didn’t know much about Sir Thomas More’s Utopia beyond its fame, but after finding a link for 21D and reading around I realise what a big deal this was. Utopia from the … Read more >>
Nick: Fairly difficult AZED this week, due to a competition puzzle, I suppose, but great to solve. 30ac and 12dn seemed to be very convolute to work out, with 30ac being the ‘gotcha’ … Read more >>
I generally find Everyman puzzles to be on the easy side and this was no exception, though it did provide a gentle warm up in preparation for the Azed and EV. So far … Read more >>