Azed 2295

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A plain Azed puzzle this time generating the usual challenges.       There were three compound anagram clues this week (13 across [NIKAU], 34 across [REDD] and 21 down [EJECTA].  They are … Read more >>

Enigmatic Variations No.1227 – Thinking Outside the Box by Piccadilly

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Thinking Outside the Box is an ‘enter where they will fit’ puzzle. These typically require a lot of cold solving, so we’re (more than usually) at the mercy of the setter. If the clues are very difficult, these take a great deal of work. So how much thinking – inside or outside the box – will Piccadilly’s puzzle require?

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Guardian Prize 26,896 by Paul

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I find Paul’s crosswords more varied than most of his contemporaries, one is never sure what one is going to get.  It might be an easy-peasy puzzle or it might be a stinker; it could be serious or it could be puerile and frivolous.  Today Paul is in fairly subdued mood, nothing outrageous but not completely serious either.  Thanks Paul, please keep them coming.

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Guardian 26,900 / Bonxie

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My apologies for being rather later than usual with the blog: I had various computer problems, resulting in losing the blog altogether. Bonxie puzzles are rather rare and I was pleased to see … Read more >>

Independent 9,246 by Morph

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Morph has given us his usual very sound and pleasant crossword. It was always my impression that Morph’s clues were on the wordy side, but I counted them (yes I really did, I have to admit) and the average word-length of each clue is only 7, which compares quite favourably with Dean Mayer’s last Sunday Times puzzle of 6.8. I had always thought that Dean’s clues were particularly pithy, but this one was not all that far behind. Anyway, perhaps it’s a bit silly to focus on length: quality is what it’s about, and there was plenty of quality here.

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Financial Times 15,255 by IO

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Difficult to solve and difficult to blog.  Just plain difficult really.  There are a couple of solutions that I still can’t explain even after a protracted search.  Thank you Io for the mental workout and another chastening experience!

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