Posted by Simon Harris on 31st October 2009
Apologies for the later than usual blog. I only found out yesterday that I was expected to work today. So anyway, here's Beelzebub 1,027, which I found to be a fair bit more challenging than recent puzzles.
Posted in Beelzebub | No Comments »
Posted by Colin Blackburn on 31st October 2009
I printed this puzzle off on the day of its publication but set it aside due to work pressures. I intended to take it on holiday with me to Netherlands and Belgium. An overnight ferry from Newcastle to IJmuiden would give plenty of opportunity to tackle this and other puzzles. In the event I forgot to take this puzzle or any puzzle. It was a very dull journey!
Posted in Enigmatic Variations | 1 Comment »
Posted by rightback on 31st October 2009
Solving time: 20 mins plus another couple of days mulling over 13dn and 25ac.
Posted in Guardian | 25 Comments »
Posted by Simon Harris on 30th October 2009
*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone, cd=cryptic definition, dd=double definition.
Posted in Independent | 6 Comments »
Posted by shuchi on 30th October 2009
A mixed bag. Some easy clues, some not. Some fine clues, a few I have quibbles with or questions about.
Posted in FT | 3 Comments »
Posted by Andrew on 30th October 2009
I guessed the planetary theme almost immediately, knowing that “planet” means “wanderer”, from the fact that the planets move in the sky relative to the so-called “fixed stars”. It’s not a complete set: Uranus and Neptune are missing, but the slightly dubious Earth and Pluto are there instead.
Key:
dd = double definition
* = anagram
< = reverse
Posted in Guardian | 19 Comments »
Posted by beermagnet on 30th October 2009
We haven’t seen Tyrus for a while. When we have it has been tough, as this one proved to be.
I was pleased to get a good handful on the first pass over about 10 minutes including the prawn-based mini-theme, but the rate of answer entry dropped dramatically over the rest of the evening. Thankfully clocks going back an hour gave me extra time on the Sunday morn to think up some guesses to write in for those pesky last few.
On Sunday I was not sure of the answer for 27A and couldn’t see the wordplay for that and several others, which was a bit embarrassing. So I asked around and happily several friends came to my rescue. Thanks again to all them. Of course I may have other wordplay wrong.
If there’s a Nina in there that would’ve helped I haven’t seen it.
Posted in Independent | 4 Comments »
Posted by kenmac on 30th October 2009
Posted in Inquisitor | 10 Comments »
Posted by manehi on 29th October 2009
| Across | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1 | PENANCE | PENCE around AN |
| 5 | LAMPREY | LAM+PREY |
| 10 | SPRY | SPY i.e. “mole” around R[esistance] |
| 11 | APOTHEOSIS | (Sophie ‘as to)* |
| 12 | PRESTO | PO around REST – a spider is one of the rests used in snooker. |
| 13 | TORTUOUS | TORTU[r]OUS, with the r[ight] taken away |
| 14 | TRADESMAN | (smart dean)* |
| 16 | RIDER | double def |
| 17 | EARTH | double def |
| 19 | SEASONING | IN i.e. “cool” inside SEA SONG. Really liked this. |
| 23 | PARAQUAT [wiki] | PART around AQUA |
| 24 | MASCOT | M[onday] + ASCOT |
| 26 | MATTERHORN | MATTER + HORN |
| 27 | DRIP | DIP=pickpocket around R for king/queen |
| 28 | ITERATE | [L]ITERATE |
| 29 | DRAUGHT | referring to draughtsmen, I assume. |
| Down | ||
| 2 | EMPEROR | E[nglish] + MP + ER[r]OR |
| 3 | ABYSS | hidden in “BarnABY’S Strength” |
| 4 | CHAMOIS [wiki] | CO=officer + IS, all around HAM |
| 6 | ADHERE | AD + HERE |
| 7 | PROFUSION | PRO + FUSION |
| 8 | EPICURE | EPIC + “banker” i.e. river URE |
| 9 | CONTRAVENTION | rev(ART) in CONVENTION |
| 15 | DETRACTOR | DE “of French” + TRACTOR |
| 18 | ADAMANT | ADAM + A + NT i.e. the National Trust |
| 20 | SEMINAR | (remains)* |
| 21 | NEOLITH | (in hotel)* |
| 22 | TURRET | (utter)* around R for king |
| 25 | SADHU [wiki] | SAD + HU[ngarian] |
Posted in Guardian | 11 Comments »
Posted by smiffy on 29th October 2009
This one was something of a ripper (see 19D) in terms of trickiness for me. Probably one of my slowest solves this year. I found the NE-corner particularly tough to gain a toe-hold in, but was kicking myself about most of those on completion.
Posted in FT | No Comments »
Posted by nmsindy on 29th October 2009
Anax has fairly recently joined the Indy team and also, I believe, sets for the Times and set one of the three puzzles used in the recent Times Crossword Championship won by Mark Goodliffe, known to solvers as Mr Magoo. His puzzles are among the hardest in the Indy, this took me 55 mins. Some really excellent clues, and, pretty much all fully understood with very intricate wordplay in places all stacking up in the end
Posted in Independent | 16 Comments »
Posted by Uncle Yap on 29th October 2009
Monday Prize Crossword on 19 October 2009
dd = double definition
cd = cryptic definition
rev = reversed or reversal
ins = insertion
cha = charade
ha = hidden answer
*(fodder) = anagram
Posted in FT | 2 Comments »
Posted by Pete Maclean on 29th October 2009
Prize puzzle from the Weekend FT of October 17
My favourite of these clues is 9A. Then there are a few that I do not completely understand (3D, 4D, 15D) and one, 4D, that I have a misgiving about.
Posted in FT | 4 Comments »
Posted by mhl on 28th October 2009
Apologies for the late post – I’m afraid I woke up late in an inconvenient time zone, don’t have access to a printer, found my online Chambers subscription had run out (and it won’t let me renew it), the Java applet crashed, it’s raining, etc. etc.
Posted in Guardian | 14 Comments »
Posted by nmsindy on 28th October 2009
Excellent puzzle as ever from Dac – I found it on the easy side, 17 mins
Posted in Independent | 5 Comments »
Posted by Gaufrid on 28th October 2009
A very enjoyable puzzle from Cinephile today, made easier by the horse racing theme which was fairly simple to determine from the first reference in 9a but as I was doing the clues in reverse order it was 23d that gave the game (or rather sport) away.
Posted in FT | 2 Comments »
Posted by Gaufrid on 27th October 2009
I’ve mixed views about this one. For example I liked the anagram indicators ‘snarled’ in 12a and ‘reprise’ in 20d but was unhappy with 22a and 23d as indicated below. I was also a little concerned about the wordplay in 2d and 6d in that, whilst accurate, it was somewhat convoluted.
Posted in FT | 4 Comments »
Posted by John on 27th October 2009
How clever. All the across answers except 16ac consist of something repeated, as indicated by 16ac (DOUBLE-DEALING). Quite an achievement to fit them all in, so one can be lenient about the obscurity of 9ac and possibly 27ac. And Merlin has with only one or two exceptions managed to use pretty normal words for the down answers. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Independent | 13 Comments »
Posted by Uncle Yap on 27th October 2009
dd = double definition
cd = cryptic definition
rev = reversed or reversal
ins = insertion
cha = charade
ha = hidden answer
*(fodder) = anagram
Posted in Guardian | 20 Comments »
Posted by NealH on 26th October 2009
*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone, CD=cryptic def, DD=double def, sp=spoonerism
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Independent | 11 Comments »
Posted by Ciaran McNulty on 26th October 2009
Perhaps aided by a bit more sleep than normal, I found this fairly quick-going but with a few unsatisfying clues.
Posted in Guardian | 27 Comments »
Posted by beermagnet on 26th October 2009
One of those where most went in easily but I had to put myself to bed before a couple in the top left corner, so they had to wait till the next morning.
I wouldn’t be surprised if I’ve misunderstood the wordplay on some.
Some particularly fine surface readings throughout this puzzle. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Private Eye/Cyclops | 4 Comments »
Posted by Arthur on 25th October 2009
Another one that took a little while to get going but then got much easier. Not my favourite ever, but probably pretty fair throughout. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Everyman | 7 Comments »
Posted by ilancaron on 25th October 2009
Not as many impenetrable wordplays (note to self: must improve wordplay decoding). I’m sure once this is posted, someone will put us quickly out of our misery and reveal all. I will say that I spent an inordinate amount of time looking for the competition clue — not realizing this was a plain Azed.
Across Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Azed | 9 Comments »
Posted by Simon Harris on 24th October 2009
*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone, cd=cryptic definition, dd=double definition.
Posted in Beelzebub | No Comments »
What a bad start, I thought.