Never knowingly undersolved
A good number of long phrases, with quite a few cryptic definitions and some subtle wordplay. Explanations of 20 ac welcomed. ACROSS: 1. HARD TO GRASP. CD. 9. OB(VIA T)E. Complex wordplay here … Read more >>
I found this very easy. Solving time: 14 mins Notes on some clues below: happy to explain others if asked. * = anagram ACROSS 1 S (AMOS) A SA = Salvation Army 11 … Read more >>
A far later posting than anticipated. Just realised that I should probably have followed blogging best practice and posted a placeholder here earlier in the day, especially as I actually solved the thing … Read more >>
Solving time – 26:40 I struggled to get going on this, and after 10 minutes only had half a dozen answers in, but gradually managed to work up from the bottom right-hand corner … Read more >>
Across 1 PACK, L in CAB (all reversed) – the BLACKCAP is a small songbird. 9 INDI[-a]’S,POSITION – I found this very tough and only got the answer by finding a word that … Read more >>
Last week we had an unusually difficult puzzle by Cincinnus. This week we have an unusually easy one by Mudd. Across 7. OBITUARY – anagram of TO BURY I A 8. DECAMP – … Read more >>
Solving time: 28 minutes (with help from Chambers and TEA) Over the past few months I have really come to appreciate Gordius puzzles, plenty of wit, some topical stuff and a dash of … Read more >>
Excellent puzzle as per. Any theme is lost on me although the grid suggests one. Across 9 IMMORAL — MM in I+ORAL — good surface though exam is often a giveaway. 11 CAPRICE … Read more >>
A surfeit of cryptic definitions today which isn’t of course out of character for Rufus. It’s tempered by several well crafted clues though so a smile or two were produced. Across 9 TALL … Read more >>
This was a satisfying mix of relatively easy and difficult clues. Of particular note were 5 down, 13 across and 25 across, all of which had clever cryptic definitions. Across 1 Uzbekistan: (bet … Read more >>
There’s an article on cryptic crosswords and the competition they face from <affects disdainful look> Sudoku in the Independent today: http://news.independent.co.uk/media/article3255986.ece It’s a bit depressing really.
Because I have some trouble using the “less than” sign to indicate reversals in these blogs I noticed that unusually there were no reversals in this crossword. No totally straight Cryptic Defs either. … Read more >>
Solving time: 21:45, one missing (17ac) Across clues had wordplay leading to the defined answer minus a coin. The (normal) down clues weren’t too bad though so this wasn’t much more difficult than … Read more >>
I found this unusually difficult for Phi, but perhaps that’s just because of my own incompetence. Certainly several clues that eluded me at first were simple enough when the answer eventually came. No … Read more >>
A very good (and tough in places) puzzle with an unusual theme: the top and bottom rows read OUR COUNTRY WEE ONE ENGLAND NIL. See 21a for a full explanation as to what … Read more >>