Never knowingly undersolved
Crossword Masterclass in Sussex for Aspiring Setters and Advanced Solvers My next in-person masterclass will take place in April. The contents of the class will be the same as usual, split into two … Read more >>
PETO kicks off the week…
As often happens with this setter in Quiptic mode (which he at least appears to be in here), there are a small number of clues which seem a bit clunky, or over-engineered. Your … Read more >>
My first blog of 2023 brings me a Wire puzzle in the Independent. Happy days. Abbreviations cd cryptic definition dd double definition cad clue as definition (xxxx)* anagram anagrind = anagram indicator [x] … Read more >>
A gentle start to the week from Matilda.
Sunday rolls on and Kairos brings some puzzlement for us.
Have you noticed that Everyman crosswords are always of 28 letters? So far as I can see, anyway. Why should the setter slave away for those extra few clues? Not that it matters. The standard is good, as it has been becoming for a while; good surfaces (apart from 15ac, 7dn and 19dn I think) and sound clueing, with the usual constraints of the first letters clue, the self-referential clue, and the alliterative clues. Actually I can’t see any of the last here — it looks as if Everyman has deviated from the norm and has included two long answers of two words, with the same first word.
Definitions in crimson, underlined. Indicators (anagram, homophone, reversal, etc. in italics). Link-words in green.
After almost exactly 12 years and 128 Saturday Independent blogs, I have decided it is time to ‘pass on the baguette‘, as Matt Lucas recently put it…and this was a pleasant solve to finish on, although I needed some matriarchal assistance…
Weekend puzzle from the FT of December 31, 2022
Philistine rings out the old, with the last Grauniad puzzle of 2022…a relatively gentle solve, compared to the mind-stretcher of the Christmas special the previous week!
Posted on behalf of Mitz When I produced my summary of the Guardian crossword statistics in 2021 I talked about the bonanza of records – well, 2022 has not seen quite as many … Read more >>
A fun challenge from PHSSTHPOK to start my blogging for the year. Wish everyone here a fantastic New Year 2023.
Thank you to Picaroon for the challenge. Definitions are underlined in the clues. Across 1. Clubs brawl — it could be afters (7) CRUMBLE : C(symbol for the suit, clubs, in a deck … Read more >>
Phi fills his normal Friday slot There are some obvious islands in the grid, two of which were clued as islands. CAPRI and TIREE are the ones clued directly. ASCENSION, … Read more >>
Bluth provides our Thursday challenge this week.