Never knowingly undersolved
Preamble: Clues to the perimeter entries are normal, but their answers must be modified before entry in ways suggested by an instruction that will appear in the grid when the central square is … Read more >>
This is my first Scorpion blog in quite some time, so I was rather excited to see his latest puzzle waiting for me this morning. In actual fact, and perhaps because I am … Read more >>
A rather mixed bag today with some very easy clues to gain a foothold into the grid and others that needed quite a bit of thought to work out the solution and parsing. … Read more >>
Pleasant Tuesday stroll.
A slow start to this, but then a quick finish. Thanks to Provis. Definitions are underlined in the clues. Across 1 Mock journalist about journey by bike (6) DERIDE : Reversal of(… about) … Read more >>
Please tell me that this was hard. It took me three goes to finally pin this down, but looking back you think ‘why was that so difficult?’ I have chuntered on a bit, … Read more >>
The puzzle may be found at http://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/cryptic/26754.
A much tougher week than the last one I blogged, I thought. To the extent that I’m still unable to complete the puzzle as I cobble together a blog post. 33 across and … Read more >>
On checking, I find that I haven’t blogged a Hypnos since June 2014, so it’s been a while since we’ve been out on a date. I found this hard by IoS standards, with … Read more >>
Making do without Paul’s awesome crossword utility is hard… but I somehow managed. Kind of a medium level difficulty Azed — usual Chambers trawling. There’s one wordplay that I’m unsure of — and a few … Read more >>
The puzzle may be found at http://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/everyman/3609.
Samson’s offering this week. Six clues with no definition, which the need replacing, wordplay with additional letters spelling out initials, a seventh member and a thematic adjustment. And a final grid with only … Read more >>
Hurrah! – another prize puzzle like what they used to be: not too difficult but needing – for me, at least – a bit of teasing out and a bit longer time than a … Read more >>
Some educational fare from Tees this week… …a couple of pairs of linked clues and som(m)e thematic material – for which I can’t quite work out any particular date-related significance…so maybe they are just there on … Read more >>
To finish this crossword I used aids. Usually when I do so I regret it afterwards, feeling that the answer really should have been clear, but in this case there was no self-reproach since the words were so unusual that despite some help from the wordplay they would probably still be empty spaces. None of the answers at 4ac, 12ac, 4dn, 6dn or 7dn are in Chambers Crossword Dictionary (2006) and only 4dn and 7dn are in Bradford’s (2006). So far as I can see, anyway.