Author: Guy du Sable

Some of these clues kept me guessing for a while, and delightfully so.

This surely isn’t “objectively” as hard a puzzle as it seemed to me last Saturday night. It would be extremely hyperbolic to call it a “Savage Mountain,” but it was a worthy challenge that I survived unscathed.

Took a few moments to find the wavelength, but I soon had a steady signal, as usual when Bob’s at the transmitter.

Hmm… I detect a theme here.

This fruitcake is chock-full of seasonal nuttiness, with a good number of clues that wouldn’t work nearly as well at any other time, which makes it generally quite easy. The few unusual words and more difficult parsings really stood out.

This Sunday we were truly blessed, brothers and sisters. The intelligent design of this creator tested us, but not with anything beyond our ability to bear.

After my FOI, I worked all the four longest (12-letter) clues. I profited from that flying start and had this all completed within a comfortable timeframe, though two answers stubbornly resisted parsing. Had to watch my fingers—there are some sharp devices here.

My favorite puzzles are always those that educate me at least a little bit, along with drawing on knowledge you already possess (though it may be on the verge of being forgotten).

None of these clues are ultimately complicated nor is any of the vocabulary obscure. But the setter artfully, magically, with nearly imperceptible sleights of hand, and oft-amusing surface distraction, keeps the answer hidden until it comes as a surprise.

I knew this was going to be fun when I had 1A to start and soon acquired 1D, much to my delight.