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Hello for the first time. I wondered if someone could give me a word of advice? I regularly "do" the Guardian and Observer crosswords (with a fair degree of success) and always look forward to Saturday and Sunday mornings for the Prize and Everyman. Some setters (such as Paul) usually bamboozle me but I always enjoy the challenge. However, in recent weeks, I've been finding that even if I complete the Observer Everyman, I don't enjoy the experience any more. I know the setter has changed but just wanted to ask if this is the experience of others or if it's just me?

Hi Orcadian and welcome to the Forum.

I don't have any verified knowledge of what exactly is happening with the Everyman of late but, judging by recent puzzles and, given the variety in difficulty and clue styles, there are at least three and probably more different setters that have been taking the place of the retired one we all grew to know.

Personally, I'm prepared to wait and see how all this chopping and changing shakes out. The Everyman has been a wonderful puzzle for years and it would be a shame if fans of it left based on what might be only a short term drop in form.

There has been quite a lot of views expressed on previous threads over the past month, so it might be worth your time going back and having a look at them

I hope this has been of some help and look forward to hearing from you again :-)

I agree, what used to be a pleasant solve has become tiresome.

Thank you brendan and banjoed. I will have a look at the other threads and will give it time as I do look forward to my Sunday morning puzzle. And, to be fair to the setter(s) I wouldn't know where to start in compiling a crossword so I still respect your talent :-)

I agree with banjoed, all pretty joyless these days.

I quite agree.
Over the last few weeks this crossword has become a drudge rather than the pleasurable challenge I had become accustomed to over many years.
Sadly it may be time to find another puzzle.

I have only been able to complete it once, with great difficulty, in the last five weeks, including this one. After 30+ years of buying this paper, where in my view the journalistic standards have also declined, I am trying something else as from next week. This is a bit of a shame because Everyman has been part of Sunday mornings for me.

I’m not the best puzzler, but I’ve been enjoying the Everyman for about 20 years, and I agree that it’s no longer a pleasure. There’s no enjoyment in the puzzling anymore, even when I’ve reached the solution. It’s as if the clues are so precisely literal, there’s no room for lateral thinking anymore, and that lovely lightbulb moment when it all makes sense just doesn’t happen.

I totally agree. The Everyman crossword has now become a trial rather than the enjoyable experience I used to look forward to! I've been regular for over 20 years.... I'll plug away as it may 'settle'...... but I am concerned.

Certainly a crosssword one used to complete in under 12 minutes has become a lot harder. Some clues very hard to parse, such as 9,21,24,26 today ... almost worthy of a Genius. But personally I welcome a bit of a challenge on a Sunday - and if anyone wants any hints, I think I've managed most of the parsing ...