Never knowingly undersolved
It’s been a little while since my last Slormgorm. An interesting puzzle with quite a few write-ins and then some less natural connections (for me). Overall an enjoyable challenge. Admittedly had to double … Read more >>
I think this is Shabbo’s first appearance in the Independent, or in any of the papers covered by Fifteensquared. Always good to meet a new setter, especially one who can produce a puzzle … Read more >>
Pan is one of our longest-standing Quiptic setters, and she has given us a pleasing Quiptic this morning that generally does what it’s supposed to, but is marred by a couple of editing … Read more >>
I found this a bit harder than usual for Vulcan, probably because of the large (some might say excessive) number of double definition clues. There are also several that I’ve labelled as “double/cryptic … Read more >>
A wide variety of references from Cyclops this fortnight, from a popular 70s TV show to the current pandemic, with Trump, Johnson, Clegg and Elizabeth I getting mentions in the clues…
Very entertaining. Thank you Hoskins. ACROSS 1 OPTICIANS Might they make one better-looking? (9) cryptic definition 6 ADAPT Change a lawyer gets with pint (5) A DA (lawyer) with PT (pint) … Read more >>
It’s the first Monday in May and up comes a most enjoyable tussle with Vlad. We were told that: Twelve thematic solutions are to be entered in the grid incompletely. Their clues contain … Read more >>
Everyman’s distinctive style continues with another reasonably straightforward crossword. A good range of different clue constructions here, including a few examples of clue-as-definition (though I thought these were somewhat contrived; perhaps Everyman did … Read more >>
A pleasant solve from Tyrus today. 1/10 took longer than it should have done to solve because we could not see where the ‘Q’ would go in 10ac. We hadn’t thought about IQ … Read more >>
An entertaining and a varied mix as usual. Thank you Paul. Paul’s puzzles put a smile on my face. ACROSS 1 SHAMMY Leather, fake I say (6) SHAM (fake) and MY (I say, … Read more >>
What sort of MAJORITY is Ifor testing us with this week – is it a political majority – wafer-thin Brexitian or 80-strong Johnson-ian; a ‘coming of age’ majority; or a military major-ity, like Major Major in Catch-22?
Phi eases us into weekend Phi’s puzzles often test our general knowledge. There was certainly a good mix of topics today. I did wonder whether the bleach, lye and stomach … Read more >>
A nice chewy puzzle from Tramp today, where everything is completely clear if you only read the clues in the right way. Very enjoyable: thanks to Tramp … Read more >>
A very enjoyable workout from a rare Friday setter. Thanks ARTEXLEN !! FF: 9 DD: 8 ACROSS 1 LAVISH Extravagant, somewhat like throne room? (6) cryptic def; read as LAV-ISH (like throne room) … Read more >>
Thank you to Picaroon for the challenge. Definitions are underlined in the clues. Across 1 Society tries wrong random number generators (11) SONGWRITERS : Anagram of(… random) [S(abbrev. for “Society”) + TRIES WRONG]. … Read more >>