I found this a very clever construction, and the message brought a smile. With so few variables, it didn't occupy me for too long, but it's nice to have a straightforward numerical for once. Thanks,...
Eventually got this completed, at times by plodding rather than by managing a logical sequence of solving. It's a pity something doesn't emerge in the final grid to convince you that it is filled...
Am I alone in finding this AZED impossibly hard? Usually I find it very tough but 'doable'. But this time there are so many clues that I can't answer that I have given up. These include Across...
Got the theme but not 2d and 3d. Please help with 2d Scholar cut chatter (5) ?A??? and 3d Language of big buzzing city - fine words mostly (6) ?e???c. Thank you
(iv) clues containing compound anagrams that omit the second anagram indicator. Consider this recent example from an experienced setter: Corral terrible reptilian - no pet (4,2) Without the second...
.. words that need to be split between definition and wordplay, even if hyphenated. To illustrate the fifth example of cruciverbal no-nos, consider this recent example: Sub-note about neckwear (5,...
34a Just short of a healthy appetite! (4) L?S?
36d Small explosive with opening, turning (5) N?TR? nitro fits the defn of "small explosive" but the rest?...
Well, tough again. A couple of times I was stuck for a way forward only to find that a clue only leads to a fraction of the legitimate answers expected and a nice interplay of clues and deductions on...
Apologies if another thread has begun; nothing is showing up that it has. On reading the preamble I thought this looked tricky (if not downright impossible). However, the start of the puzzle was very...
5a Partially risk a terrible injury on the ice. (6) I see that SKATER is a hidden word ... but why “... injury on the ice.” And why the full stop? Quite a few full stops in other clues today....
(i) anagram indicators that do not really indicate rearrangement In the first of an occasional series of things setters should avoid using, often just for the sake of the surface reading, consider...
Brewer's (the quoted reference for this puzzle) gives the Garden of Ireland as Wicklow, but the only remaining unclued light seems to be CA?LO? Is this a mistake or are we looking for the Garden of...
(iv) clues containing compound anagrams that omit the second anagram indicator Two further examples from the same setter: Wild reactionaries ignoring (*) scene of missile attack (3-2-3) Grotesque...
I've only just started to look at this. It immediately occurs to me that those fourth powers are also square numbers so surely they will satisfy both properties. But this isn't allowed according to...
I came to have a look to see what others thought of this one, but it looks like I'm the first - which must also be a first. The grid fill for Grid A was a bit of a slog, but I thought there was a nice...