Guardian 24,397/Shed (Sat 24 May) – In the pink
Posted by rightback on 31st May 2008
Posted in Guardian | 2 Comments »
Archive for May, 2008
Independent 6741/Nimrod
Posted by neildubya on 30th May 2008
Ran into a brick wall about halfway through this one and then spotted the Nina (referenced in 9), which got things moving again. Still don’t understand a few things here and there though. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Independent | 12 Comments »
Independent 6,746/Phi
Posted by Ali on 30th May 2008
I struggled to get going with this, only solving one of the Across clues on my first pass. A few nice, long cryptic definitions eventually got the ball rolling and everything else then fell into place. Good stuff as usual, though the wordplay in one clue (22A) has me stumped, which is a rarity for Phi I must say!
Posted in Independent | 5 Comments »
Financial Times no. 12,781 set by SATORI
Posted by Octofem on 30th May 2008
Not too troublesome today – one or two pleasing clues with a few rather obvious ones.
Posted in FT | 3 Comments »
Guardian 24,402 (Gordius)
Posted by diagacht on 30th May 2008
| Across | |
|---|---|
| 1 | DECIDED: CID in DEED |
| 5 | DELIBES: DLIBErateS without rate. Refers to Leo Delibes the French romantic composer |
| 10 | NEWCASTLE: anagram of LEWES CANT |
| 11 | OFF WITH HIS HEAD: from Lewis Carroll’s Queen in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Also much used by Shakespeare! |
| 13 | OARE: OAR + E |
| 14 | ALTARNUN: sounds like ‘alter none’ |
| 17 | EYESIGHT: YES in EIGHT |
| 18 | RHEA: oveRHEAd without an anagram of ‘dove’ |
| 21 | PERFECT EXAMPLE: PERFECT (grammatical tense) + EX + AMPLE (adequate) |
| 23 | TIGERWOOD: a kind of wood and the singular writing of the great golfer Tiger Woods |
| 24 | TENSE: anagram of SENT + E |
| 25 | YPSILON: I SPY (reversed) + half LONdon |
| 26 | SYCOSIS: sounds like psychosis |
| Down | |
| 1 | DUDS: double definition |
| 2 | CASH FOR PEERAGES: CASH FOR PEE (toilet charge) + RAGES |
| 3 | DISOWN: IS (one’s) in DOWN |
| 6 | LOADSTAR: anagram of LAST ROAD |
| 7 | BETWEEN THE LINES: I think this is a double definition. |
| 8 | SHELDONIAN: anagram of IS ON HANDEL, for the Oxford theatre |
| 12 | HOMEOPATHY: HOME (in) + O (love) + PATH Y (unknown way) |
| 15 | DIHEDRAL: anagram of DR HAILED. I have no idea what the aerodynamic feature is. I know the word within the context of mathematics, referring to that bounded by two planes (not aeroplanes!) |
| 16 | SHUT DOWN: SH + UT + DOWN |
| 19 | EXODUS: Not confident of this one. EX (once) OD (in the red, as in overdrawn) + US (those on the Guardian team?) |
| 20 | EMETIC: reverse CITE ME (as in the setter) |
| 22 | TEAS: TEASe without the ‘e’, to chaff |
Posted in Guardian | 8 Comments »
Inquisitor #73 METAMORPHOSIS by Dysart
Posted by Hihoba on 30th May 2008
A nice twist in a crossword with conventional clues (no misprints, extra words etc. to muddy the waters). The puzzle was made more difficult by the fact that I found the clues in the top half easier to solve than those in the bottom half, so the author only appeared late in my labours on the bottom line.
Posted in Inquisitor | 1 Comment »
Guardian 24,401 – Brendan
Posted by manehi on 29th May 2008
My chronic lack of geographical knowledge slowed me down quite a bit in this puzzle with lots of varied and often rather clever uses of “capital”, both in definitions and wordplay. On reflection, this probably made me waste more time in those clues where the geographical capital could not possibly have been relevant, eg 4ac. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Guardian | 17 Comments »
Independent 6745/Scorpion
Posted by neildubya on 29th May 2008
I found this easier than usual for this setter but there are still a few bits and pieces that I don’t understand. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Independent | 14 Comments »
Independent on Sunday 954 by Quixote (25 May 2008)
Posted by nmsindy on 29th May 2008
Posted in Independent | No Comments »
Financial Times 12,780 – Flimsy
Posted by Uncle Yap on 29th May 2008
Just a reminder about the common abbreviations that I use
*() = anagram (fodder)
cd = cryptic definition
dd = double definition
ha = hidden answer
ins = insertion
cha = charade
Posted in FT | 4 Comments »
Financial Times 12,771 – Dante
Posted by Uncle Yap on 29th May 2008
This is another easily solved prize puzzle (from Monday 19 May 2008) with many anagram clues and cryptic definitions ala Dante. I suppose it is a less stressful way to begin a week and should encourage a large entry. By the way, I never time myself for any puzzle as I approach it primarily for its entertainment value. When I solve, say a clever cryptic definition clue, I savour the aha effect. I also try and rationalise the whole clue to unravel the word-play so craftily devised by the compiler….just like I would slowly enjoy a well-cooked meal prepared so painstakingly by a master chef .
Posted in FT | 2 Comments »
Financial Times 12,770 by Falcon (As Easy As Pi?)
Posted by Pete Maclean on 29th May 2008
A mostly easy but excellent puzzle from Falcon with one clue (3D), the wordplay of which I failed to fully fathom. 21A was tricky because while I am familiar with expressions “as easy as pie” and “as sweet as pie”, I do not recall ever hearing “as nice as pie”.
Posted in FT | 5 Comments »
FT 12.779/ Cinephile
Posted by smiffy on 28th May 2008
I didn’t detect any over-arching theme in this puzzle, although the appearance of the word NINA in the sixth column could well mean that I’m missing something.
Posted in FT | 2 Comments »
Independent 6744 by Radian
Posted by nmsindy on 28th May 2008
An excellent themed puzzle by Radian, timed, I expect, to coincide with Sebastian Faulks’ new James Bond book on the centenary of Ian Fleming’s birth, I think. I got the theme almost instantly with the Czech town, BRNO, 24 across, making me look at 19 down and seeing DR NO. Solving time, 21 mins, most completed in about 11 mins, with the last three or four taking a while to track down.
Posted in Independent | 12 Comments »
Guardian 24,400 – Pasquale
Posted by Uncle Yap on 28th May 2008
Common abbreviations used
dd = double definition
cd = cryptic definition
ha = hidden answer
rev = reversed or reversal
cha = charade
ins = insertion
Posted in Guardian | 20 Comments »
Guardian 24399 Paul : “Render Bender”
Posted by neildubya on 27th May 2008
Posted in Guardian | 20 Comments »
Independent 6743/Dac
Posted by John on 27th May 2008
What’s Dac doing on a Tuesday? Something’s afoot. Oh yes, today must be special – look at the outer unches – in which case many congratulations.
Posted in Independent | 11 Comments »
Financial Times 12778 / Highlander
Posted by C G Rishikesh on 27th May 2008
Quite an easy crossword that I finished in just ten minutes. A beginner-level puzzle with simple words and uncomplicated and rather familiar wordplay.
Posted in FT | 4 Comments »
Guardian 24398/Rufus – should have stayed in bed
Posted by ilancaron on 26th May 2008
Somewhat patchy Rufus — some doubtful cryptic definitions but elsewhere some clever misdirections. I’m writing this up through the fog of a migraine so no promises as to quality. In retrospect, I wonder why I got up so early to do this. Wasn’t really worth it. On reading the comments below, I feel I must have let my migraine-induced grumpiness get the better of me. There are some nice clues here indeed: 5A, 18A, 20A — I found 26A and 19D transparent but i can understand their appeal (on the other hand, I am often mystified by allusions that others find obvious…).
Posted in Guardian | 15 Comments »
Independent 6742 – Eimi / Bank Holiday Fun
Posted by tilsit on 26th May 2008
Solving time: 24 minutes
A good stiff Bank Holiday mental workout. A very entertaining curate’s egg of a puzzle for me in that i really liked some clues, but one or two definitions seemed a bit “loose” to me. 10 across’ definition is an example. Correct, I suppose, but inadequate to me. Incidentally, I can’t find a cartoon dog named Tom ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fictional_dogs ), was this a misprint for Cat?.
Posted in Independent | 9 Comments »
Private Eye/Cyclops 365 – I will survive
Posted by beermagnet on 26th May 2008
This was most enjoyable.
| Across | |
|---|---|
| 6 | NOAH NO-AH “Flood survivor” I had a real blank on this one. I expect it was just me. It ended up being the last in. I left it at N?A? but saw it immediately when I looked a while later. Nice clue. |
| 7 | COLOSTOMY CO (MOSTLY O)* |
| 11 | IAGO I-A-GO One-on-one giving I and A Naughty boy. |
| 13 | GOVERNMENT (GNOME TV ER N)* Gnome enterprises of all sorts are controlled by the legendery Lord Gnome, supremo of The Eye |
| 15 | TREMOR T(REM)OR ROT< about R.E.M The Chinese might dispute “tremor” being synonymous with “tingle”. |
| 17 | COHORT COO and HRT interwoven (“before and partly during”) I liked this and was surprised and pleased when the answer popped out using the wordplay |
| 20 | ADAM AND EVE ADA MAN D EVE Cockey slang for believe, i.e. credit |
| 23/12 | ONCE OVER ON C[ivil] E[ngineer] [l]OVER |
| 24 | COWPUNCHER COW PUNCH ER I had the check that a C is a cowboy (“He’s often mounted”) |
| 25 | BRASSIERE BR ASS IE RE Re is an alternative to Ray in the Solfa scale |
| 26 | BERK BERK[s] |
| Down | |
| 1 | IN CLOVER LOVE (“really enjoy”) inside INCR (“solvent briefly” in the money sense) |
| 2 | LABOUR (BAL[f]OUR)* We’ve seen the “F-off” technique used before, it still raises a smile. |
| 3 | CONCAVE (CAN)* inside COVE (“old bloke”) |
| 4/22 | DOGSBODY DOGS BODY |
| 5 | IMOGEN [l]IMO GEN[t] Despite using the general “Girl” as a definition, this gets the favourite clue award: Girl, fancy car, top off, bloke getting end away (6) |
| 8 | TRIUMPH PM (“Brown”) and later I (“Cyclops”) inside HURT (“sting”) all reversed (“mounted”) |
| 9 | HANGER-ON HANGER (NO)* |
| 14 | RACKED UP [c]RACKED UP On first reading the clue implied to me the “opposite” wordplay to that required. I was wondering how “Raked up” apparently meant “burst into laughter” before parsing it as shown: Burst into laughter when Conservatives’ leader goes “Accumulated points” (6,2) |
| 16/10 | MEMBERS ALLOWANCES |
| 18 | REDNECKS NECK inside REDS |
| 19 | NETWORK (WET)* inside NORK is Nork a particularly Aussie term? Well known enough in the UK now anyway. |
| 21 | DONORS CD |
| 22 | BUCKET BUCKE[d i]T This is the trickiest in the puzzle, I hope I’ve parsed it aright. It would’ve been the last in if I hadn’t suffered Noah-blindness. The answer is clearly bucket as you kick the bucket when you die, I’ve assumed the last phrase is the definition, the middle “kicked it” gives “bucked it” and the first “Di going spare” indicates removal of “di”. If so, all very clever but there is no way anyone would use such wordplay to discover the answer: Di going spare, kicked it, Di kicked it (6) |
| 24 | CHIT C HIT |
Posted in Private Eye/Cyclops | 4 Comments »
Azed 1877: Take a bow
Posted by jetdoc on 25th May 2008
Very much at the easy end of the Azed spectrum (I hope that doesn’t upset anyone). I don’t know how long this took me, as I don’t time myself and I’m usually multi-tasking (in this case, I was drying my hair in preparation for day 4 of the test match at Lord’s; but you don’t need to know that). Anyway, I’d guess that I have never completed an Azed more quickly than this one.
Posted in Azed | 6 Comments »
Guardian 24,391/Araucaria – Herbal medicine
Posted by rightback on 24th May 2008
Solving time: 45 mins
This was the hardest Guardian prize puzzle for ages and I thought for a while that I was going to fail it completely, with less than half of the grid filled. Eventually I realised that ‘nick of time’ at 22dn was incorrect, and after that I started to make some slow progress. A few clues I’m not keen on, but probably no more than usual for this setter.
Posted in Guardian | 8 Comments »
FT 12,775/ Sleuth
Posted by smiffy on 23rd May 2008
With apologies for the later than usual posting. Nothing desperately troublesome in this puzzle.
Given the grid structure, I was half expecting some sort of Nina message to emerge in the outside columns. That possibility looked promising at first (with IS CLA…) but turned out to be wishful thinking on my part.
Posted in FT | 2 Comments »
Independent 6735/Morph
Posted by neildubya on 23rd May 2008
| Across | |
|---|---|
| 6 | MA,(HID)* – MAHDI (“Guided one”) was the prophesied redeemer of Islam. MA is the Internation Vehicle Registration (IVR) for Morocco. |
| 9 | (MESSY ST)* – SYSTEMS. |
| 10 | ANDOVER – DNA is “AND over”. |
| 11 | (MAN HURT BY)* – URBAN MYTH |
| 12 | AUNTS – “relations” looks like the definition but I don’t get the wordplay: “Targets for abuse, without friends”. |
| 13 | (DEVIL AT PARTY TO)* – TOTAL DEPRAVITY. |
| 21 | RETAKE in CAR |
| 26 | G,[-?]AY,RIGHT,S – not sure which word is indicated by “guillotined vote” – ?AY. |
| Down | |
| 1 | MOSQUITO – not sure if this is right but it fits the potential definition “high-pitched sound emanates from this”. Don’t understand the rest of the clue though. |
| 2 | LAST,BUT NOT,LE[-wis]A,ST – somewhat convoluted clue but it all fits together smoothly enough. “Ton up rival” is (Jenson) BUTTON (with the last three letters reversed), a F1 racing driver touted as a potential British world champion until Lewis Hamilton came along. |
| 3 | STERN – which is not where a figurehead on a boat would go |
| 4 | STY in (LINE)* – IN STYLE. |
| 5 | (HANGS)*,ER – does the Queen actually breed corgis? I thought she just kept them? |
| 7 | HAVEN,(COURT)*, IT in KWH – HAVE NO TRUCK WITH. |
| 8 | I[-a]NRUSH |
| 14 | (LOVE TYING)* – LONGEVITY. |
| 17 | ETCHING – is this a reference to the euphemistic phrase “come up to see my etchings”? |
| 18 | CURSOR-Y – that’s the mouse on your computer, which can control your cursor. |
| 22 | TUTS,I |
Posted in Independent | 21 Comments »