Inquisitors
Posted by petebiddlecombe on 31st October 2007
The report for No. 42 is now complete. And 43 is solved so will be blogged promptly.
Posted in Inquisitor | No Comments »
Archive for October, 2007
Independent 6565/Dac — a river runs through it.
Posted by Colin Blackburn on 31st October 2007
Usual high quality fare from Dac: excellent surfaces, good clear wordplay, and at least one I have failed to get. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Independent | 5 Comments »
Guardian 24,222 – Araucaria/Is there a theme?
Posted by loonapick on 31st October 2007
A typically challenging puzzle from the master himself. There are a few mini-themes such as religion (NUNNERY, WHITED SEPULCHRE, LOURDES, EXCOMMUNICATION), the Crusades (GRAIL, BALDWIN), a couple of medical terms (FEMORAL, LUSTRAL) and a couple of Welsh towns (MAESTEG, DOLGELLAU), but I can’t bring it all together, so either I’m looking for something that isn’t there, or it’s gone over my head.
Posted in Guardian | 9 Comments »
Independent 6564/Virgilius
Posted by neildubya on 30th October 2007
More thematic wizardry from my favourite compiler: spot the colours in 6 across clues. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Independent | 4 Comments »
Inquisitor 42 – Twenty years later by Schadenfreude
Posted by petebiddlecombe on 30th October 2007
loonapick had to admit defeat on this puzzle. This was partly because the theme of the puzzle mainly affected England rather than Scotland. It was Michael Fish and his quote about the telephoned hurricane warning – the puzzle appeared on the 20th anniversary of the 1987 storms (I saw repeats of the quote three or four times on the TV that day – so I think loonapick also struggled as he didn’t start on the day of publication). The ‘eye’ in the centre of the grid was presumably a visual hint.
Posted in Inquisitor | 1 Comment »
Guardian 24221/Pasquale — hard not easy
Posted by ilancaron on 30th October 2007
This was hard. Not easy. Some of the clues seem better suited to a weekend puzzle — not to the mention the fact that the online version didn’t indicate enumerations (word divisions) at all which made some clues quite difficult: 1D, 8D, 23A, 19A. A couple of fine clues (e.g. 14A) but overall more dictionary-words than is my wont for a weekday (e.g. LORICA, EFFERENT, HEPTANE). I also must admit I don’t understand 20D (ACCORD?), 21D (LORICA) and 25D (LARK?). Read the comments below to understand how to decode the early-morning online errors (since fixed) which apply to the last few down clues.
Posted in Guardian | 11 Comments »
Independent 6563 by Tees
Posted by nmsindy on 29th October 2007
I found this very tough indeed. Usually where there is a theme with interlinked answers, it’s slower but I thought this might be different when I found 16 across etc after just 12 mins. But not so. Some very devious, clever, misdirection and very satisfying to finish.
Posted in Independent | 9 Comments »
Guardian 24,220, Paul: Follow the grapes
Posted by michod on 29th October 2007
Just a quick post to get the ball rolling as I’m in a training course all day. Not sure why we have the treat of a Paul on a Monday – is Rufus on holiday? Anyway, some gems here – 15 down made me laugh out loud.
Posted in Guardian | 14 Comments »
Guardian 24,213 (Sat 20 Oct)/Araucaria – A lemon tree, Watson
Posted by rightback on 28th October 2007
Solving time: 14:15
Not too difficult this week from Araucaria, with no monster phrases or multiple cross-references. The top right corner held me up at the end, as did the long down clue which still baffles me a bit. I don’t understand the definition for 7dn.
Posted in Guardian | 6 Comments »
Azed 1847 – Inquisitors and heretics
Posted by petebiddlecombe on 28th October 2007
Solving time: say 2 hours in a couple of sessions
It’s intriguing to see the successor of Torquemada and Ximenes dedicating a puzzle to Araucaria, who some strict Ximeneans might want (metaphorically of course) to see roasting in his sanbenito at an auto-da-fé. Azed seems to be practicing what he preaches in the introductory pages of his A-Z of Crosswords book, where he says of the Ximenean and ‘libertarian’ schools: Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Azed | 7 Comments »
independent 6561 / Phi An F’ing Puzzle
Posted by tilsit on 26th October 2007
Solving Time: 26 minutes
Lots of F’s around in today’s Phi puzzle (including four block
shapes in the corners of the grid). The usual mix of cryptic defs
and good sound clue construction which we havecome to expect from Phi.
Posted in Independent | 2 Comments »
Independent 6556/Monk (20-10-07)
Posted by neildubya on 26th October 2007
I think I made very heavy weather of this as, looking back at the answers now, there’s not too much there that should have given me problems; the notable exceptions being 12A and 26A. Once I filled the grid I did a quick scan to look for a Nina and, finding nothing obvious, assumed that there wasn’t one. However, I’ve solved enough Monk puzzles to know this would be unusual so I looked a bit harder and sure enough, there it was: running diagonally from top left to bottom right, and bottom left to top right is the phrase: SECRET STAIRCASE. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Independent | 2 Comments »
Guardian 24,218, Quantum: 4-ing troubles
Posted by michod on 26th October 2007
It could be the toothache – I might have been more charitable if I’d waited for the co-codamol to take effect – but I found myself being rather picky today. There are some nice touches here, but also some wordplay that seems a bit iffy, as well as a few cryptic definitions which (as is so often the case) were less well concealed to me as a solver than they must have to the setter.
Posted in Guardian | 10 Comments »
Independent 6560/Scorpion – Thursday 25 October 2007
Posted by John on 25th October 2007
Solving time : well over an hour. Lots of difficult clues, as one would expect with Scorpion, but some lovely ones and most of them could eventually be explained. I think. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Independent | 6 Comments »
Guardian 24217: Brummie — Aspiring (expiring) divas, take note
Posted by jetdoc on 25th October 2007
I was already in Brummie mode when I completed this, having just finished this week’s Cyclops. An entertaining puzzle, with the usual witty touch we’d expect from this setter. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Guardian | 13 Comments »
Independent on Sunday 923 by Quixote
Posted by nmsindy on 25th October 2007
A pleasing offering from Quixote – will comment on a small number of what I found the trickier or best clues, but happy to explain others if asked.
Posted in Independent | No Comments »
Financial Times 12,588 by Mudd
Posted by Pete Maclean on 25th October 2007
Posted in FT | 1 Comment »
Guardian 24216/Brendan – in a Nobel cause
Posted by linxit on 24th October 2007
Solving time approx 16 mins.
I spotted 10 winners of the Nobel Peace Prize – I think that’s all there are in it. And of course 8dn gives a strong hint to the theme. A lot of the featured Nobel laureates are given brilliant &lit clues, e.g. 1,22; 6; 11; 16; 20,27.
Posted in Guardian | 5 Comments »
Independent 6559 by Dac
Posted by nmsindy on 24th October 2007
An excellent puzzle from Dac, one of the top setters. Solving time: 21 mins
Posted in Independent | 4 Comments »
Independent 6558/Virgilius
Posted by neildubya on 23rd October 2007
Cryptic crossword setters often borrow terminology from the world of 2D so a bridge-themed puzzle seems very appropriate. This cleverly constructed grid contains NORTH SOUTH EAST WEST in the places you would expect them to be, as well as the four playing card 24A and NO TRUMPS. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Independent | 4 Comments »
Guardian No 24,215/Puck – the good, the bad and the ugly?
Posted by loonapick on 23rd October 2007
In my opinion, a mixture of brilliant clues (5, 10, 20) and some of the things I don’t like so much in puzzles (14, 24) and a couple of clues where I’m not sure if they are good or not (13, 19)
Posted in Guardian | 14 Comments »
Guardian 24214/Rufus – not iffy
Posted by ilancaron on 22nd October 2007
A typical balanced Rufus opus with sensible surfaces and no cryptic definition overdose. And pleasantly not a rugby reference in sight. My last clue was 24A since my only exposure to opera so far has been via this medium.
Posted in Guardian | 1 Comment »
Independent 6557/Math
Posted by neildubya on 22nd October 2007
| Across | |
|---|---|
| 6 | EVA< in STS – “Mrs Peron” made this a very easy clue but “bars” was an ambiguous definition in the phrase “street’s bars”. |
| 9 | REC,(PIE)* |
| 10 | U,N in NEARED |
| 11 | IF in FE – a reminder that it’s useful for cryptic solvers to have a smattering of chemical symbols committed to memory. In this case: “Fe” is iron. |
| 12 | (THE LAST FEE)* – fairly easy anagram to spot and solve. |
| 13 | VAMPIRE BAT – cryptic def. |
| 16 | E,XI,T – nice clue, with a (usually) apt surface reading. |
| 19 | R,PEN,T in SEINE |
| 20 | E,R,C in WA[-i]TRESS – the clue is a bit of a mouthful but it reads nicely and is cryptically sound. |
| 23 | B OR N – when I solved this I thought the wordplay was (BR[ight]ON)* and I remember thinking it wasn’t a very good clue as it was a bit vague and there was no anagrind. I was obviously wrong about all that. |
| 24 | FAMILIA[L for R] |
| 25 | hidden in “minstREL ENTertainer” |
| Down | |
| 2 | CIDER (going up) in PATE – I was a bit surprised to see CIDER actually appear in the clue (albeit reversed), although it’s just as well that it did as I wasn’t having any luck thinking of 5 letter alternatives for it. |
| 3 | hidden in “zebRA IS Extinct” – “of” is the blink-and-you’ll-miss-it hidden indicator. |
| 4 | REEF in TERNS – I hit upon TERNS for “sea-birds” fairly quickly but didn’t see REEF for “sandbank” for a good while after that. |
| 7 | MEN in A,GREET |
| 14 | (PET STORE I)* – POTTERIES. |
| 15 | RT<,E,A,SURE,R – an excellent clue and a very neat bit of deception here as the surface reading makes you think of Neville Chamberlain. However, a chamberlain is a TREASURER of a corporation or company. Here’s the full clue, for those that haven’t seen the puzzle: “Chamberlain was right to return having obtained peace finally and a certain end to war“. Great stuff. |
| 21 | A,G,APE – which can mean “Christian, brotherly love”. |
| 23 | L,S in BAA |
Posted in Independent | 7 Comments »
Private Eye/Cyclops 350 – Brothers and mothers
Posted by beermagnet on 22nd October 2007
This issue brought us the usual fare in the style we come to expect from our optically-challenged friend. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Private Eye/Cyclops | 2 Comments »
Independent on Sunday 922 by Quixote
Posted by nmsindy on 21st October 2007
Posted in Independent | No Comments »