Never knowingly undersolved
It’s Eccles again today – we’re in for a fun solve! ….and we weren’t disappointed. As usual, some great surfaces and several big smiles. 17ac was a new word for us but with … Read more >>
Atrica, of whose work I have little experience to date, has provided us with a themed treat to delight us this Tuesday. My apologies for posting the blog so late. I found this … Read more >>
Two’s Company by P I N K The initially-filled grid contains only one letter (say X) that appears exactly twice. Solvers must select from each clue a letter separated by one other … Read more >>
A brisk solve, squarely in the FT Tuesday tradition. Chalmie gives us a neatly-themed puzzle this morning. Very satisfying. Thanks to him. ACROSS 1 CRICKET Painfully twist alien insect (7) CRICK (‘painfully twist’) … Read more >>
A quick start with the longer clues all falling early, then got stuck for a while in the North-West. Favourites were 13ac, 17ac, 1dn, 2dn, 15dn, and 18dn. Thanks Pasquale
Thanks to Matilda. Definitions are underlined in the clues. Across 1 Shed first tear in court over writing (6) SCRIPT : 1st letter of(… first) “Shed” + [RIP(to tear away forcibly) contained in(in) … Read more >>
It’s nearly two years to the day since I last blogged a Gila puzzle. He (at least I think it’s a he) has produced a pleasing, Monday-style, nothing-to-frighten-the-horses cryptic here, with some thoughtfully … Read more >>
A gentle ARMONIE eases us into another week of lockdown… Mostly plain sailing* here though 4d was a new one for me. Also, in 15d, I’d never come across “gated” in that sense … Read more >>
My previous Monday blog was of Matilda’s first Cryptic, and now Carpathian makes the same step up from the Quiptic. This puzzle could easily have been a Quiptic, with lots of helpful anagrams … Read more >>
The puzzle can be found here.
Hi all, I hope you are well. Unlimited thanks to the ghastly twerp Hoskins for today’s 5d entertainment.
The puzzle may be found at https://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/everyman/3836. That slipped down easily, with the pair of double T long lights, and a particularly good crop of &lits. ACROSS 1 TONGUE TWISTER Tricky phrase that … Read more >>
My weekly dose of obscure and interesting words, I never tire of learning them. Thank you Azed. ACROSS 1 DRESS-IMPROVER Mrs with pride’s shown off during traditional bustle (13) anagram (shown off) of … Read more >>
Oh Dear! No doubt you have come here to check the parsings of those clues you struggled with. Well, we have to apologise. It’s not often that we have such difficulty but if … Read more >>
Since we hadn’t seen Paul during the week, I was not at all surprised to see him coinciding again with my monthly Saturday blog. However, what followed was a surprise: here we have … Read more >>
“Three pairs of cells are TRAPPED by two symmetrically and thematically placed chains of 11 cells each. All 28 cells must be highlighted in the final grid to illustrate the TRAP. The three unclued entries of a kind are also thematically positioned. Two separate groups of consecutive clues (19 in total) contain a single superfluous letter in their wordplay. Reading these in clue order will give a hint as to where to find details of the TRAP. Chambers Dictionary (2016) is recommended.”