Not the Saturday Prize Puzzle – 020
A Puzzle by Anax
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Welcome to the twentieth in our series of weekly puzzles.
This week Anax has provided a difficult puzzle with a hidden theme.
Category: Anax
Anax sets Toughies as Elkamere and also puzzles for the Times, the Independent and, as Loroso, the FT
NTSPP – 015 Review
NTSPP – 015 Review
A Going a bit Elgar by Anax
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Those of us who attended the last Cruciverbalist’s Convention at the White Horse could not help but notice that Anax was more than a little preoccupied with a certain young lady known to denizens of Big Dave’s Blog as Moonstruck Minx.
The crossword contains lots of playful clues in the spirit of Elgar but there is nothing outrageous in the cluing – think of it as being a little like one of those saucy seaside postcards.
NTSPP – 015 Comments
Not the Saturday Prize Puzzle – 015
Going a bit Elgar by Anax
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Welcome to the fifteenth in our series of weekly puzzles.
This week Anax has provided a puzzle with a personal touch.
NTSPP – 011 Review
NTSPP – 011 Review
A Puzzle by Anax
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Anax promised us a gentle stroll through a cryptic crossword. This was the case. In style, it was firmly within the Daily Telegraph crossword tradition and should be approachable for all levels of ability.
Unusually for an Anax crossword, there were a few clues that I thought were a little on the weak side. I have highlighted these below.
The answers to the clues are contained within the squiggly brackets and if you highlight the space with your mouse, all will be revealed. Feel free to have your say after the blog, and you can rate the puzzle by clicking the stars as well.
NTSPP – 011 Comments
Not the Saturday Prize Puzzle – 011
A Puzzle by Anax
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Welcome to the eleventh in our series of weekly puzzles.
Anax makes his first appearance after his debut in the FT this week. Three down and two to go!
NTSPP – 007 Review
NTSPP – 007 Review
No, there’s no Bond theme! by Anax
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Anax says that he wanted to create a puzzle magazine crossword that they would consider a “mega-tough” cryptic puzzle. He wisely added, “we all know that what passes for mega-tough in a puzzle mag is probably on the easy side for solvers of quality daily newspaper cryptics. So here was the challenge; how advanced could I make the clues while sticking to the notion that they were to be not quite as hard as it might say on the tin?”
Personally, I found this a lot easier than Anax’s previous puzzle, NTSPP – 004. It was nonetheless enjoyable and well clued. There are a few minor comments below but this is an excellent introduction to an Anax puzzle – a lot of his playfulness, some of his hidden indicators and enjoyment all around.
NTSPP – 007
Not the Saturday Prize Puzzle – 007
No, there’s no Bond theme! by Anax
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Welcome to the seventh in our series of weekly puzzles. If you were wondering about the title, this is puzzle no. 007.
Anax is experimenting once more. This one should be medium difficult, say four stars. See if you agree.
NTSPP – 004 Review
NTSPP – 004 Review
A Bonus Puzzle by Anax
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Anax set out to produce a simpler puzzle. “In setting this one I gave myself the brief of keeping things as simple as possible, which is quite a departure from the typical Anax approach.” In large measure, I think he succeeds – the puzzle was a lot more straightforward than a “typical” Anax masterpiece. However, an easy Anax puzzle still leaves room for a lot of deviousness and humour.
NTSPP – 004
Not the Saturday Prize Puzzle – 004
A Bonus Puzzle by Anax
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Welcome to the fourth in what has become an excellent series of weekly puzzles. Telegraph setters themselves have been known to dip in, perhaps to see how it really should be done!
This one dropped unexpectedly into my mailbox recently. Anax thought he would try his hand at writing an easier puzzle. Easier that what? You might well ask. Easier than his usual fare. Is it easy – that’s for you to judge.
NTSPP – 001 Review
NTSPP – 001 Review
An Independent Puzzle by Anax
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I didn’t have much difficulty nor did I take much time with this puzzle. For me this was a ‘toughie’ in the sense that in some four or five instances the annotation didn’t come immediately upon getting the answer from all or part of wordplay. As for 1d, I had to go looking for the confirmation of the definition ‘useless’. So my engagement with the crossword extended for a while after completing the puzzle in fully interpreting the stubborn clues.
I got a toehold in the grid with 13a WAG. The first to fall was bottom-half, then top right. Top-left was the last quadrant. One or two answers such as 17a had to be revised in the course of solving. The penultimate clue was 1dn; the last one was 10a.
Very well-crafted clues giving the utmost satisfaction to the solver.