Never knowingly undersolved
Solving time: 17:30 The preamble said that this was a ‘Fourth of July’ offering, the manifestation of which was the appearance of the word ‘state’ in many of the clues, sometimes referring to … Read more >>
*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone, cd=cryptic definition, dd=double definition. Thankfully (from a blogger’s point of view!) a good deal easier than some we’ve seen this week, but good fun all the same. Across 1 … Read more >>
Straightforward puzzle today. Some of the wordplay uses lesser-known meanings of familiar words (such as to=shut, out=seawards), but nothing very obscure or controversial. Across 1 PASTRY PA’S TRY. Nice surface. 4 TOP BRASS … Read more >>
Nothing too troublesome in this one, with quite a few easy anagrams to get me started. One or two quibbles about meanings noted below. Key: dd = double definition * = anagram … Read more >>
Solving time: about 90 minutes This puzzle’s thematic material was provided by both extra and missing letters in wordplay, and two grid entries – one unclued, one clued without definition. The letters missing … Read more >>
This was a relatively straightforward puzzle with an easy to find theme since it was clearly indicated by the extra letters in the wordplay and the ‘three components’ in ‘appropriate relative positions’ could … Read more >>
Has Anax set for the Indy before? I don’t think so (waits to be proved wrong). He sets for various publications, is a regular commenter here and has popped up at Sloggers’n’Betters events. … Read more >>
A gentle but fun return to solving after a few weeks’ holiday. Edits thanks to Lanson and Eileen. Across 8 DECANTER DETER=”put off” around CAN=”tin” 9 LEECH rev(HEEL) around C for cold. 10 … Read more >>
Not too often that Mudd makes a mid-week appearance, and this puzzle felt like a good (non-too-fiendish) fit for a summer’s Thursday. Across 1 SNOWDROP – snow + drop 6 SLEEPY – lee … Read more >>
Well, we knew that there was a one in three chance of getting a Nimrod before the week was out, so I braced myself for this and started late last night. I’ve been … Read more >>
I found this much harder than usual because of some items in the top half of the grid that were new to me and a silly mistake with 6 across which meant I … Read more >>
Monday Prize Crossword on 29 June 2009 dd = double definition cd = cryptic definition rev = reversed or reversal ins = insertion cha = charade ha = hidden answer *(fodder) = anagram … Read more >>
Prize puzzle from the Weekend FT of June 27 Often when solving a puzzle, I just see what is clearly the right answer to a clue without figuring out how it works. This … Read more >>
Top quality puzzle from Dac, great variety, subtlety and no loose ends. Solving time, 28 mins. * = anagram < = reversed 1 TO PIC “pick” ‘to’ appearing as itself in the wordplay … Read more >>
My apologies for this being posted later than usual. There appears to have been a problem with the scheduled blog. As with my Azed blog a couple of weeks back, I didn’t know I … Read more >>