Posted by mhl on 30th June 2010
Sorry for the late (and very rushed) post – I knew I was blogging today but didn’t make much progress on the way into work and then promptly forgot about it. I wish I’d had more time to enjoy this one – lots of nice clues, but pretty tough, I thought.
Posted in Guardian | 36 Comments »
Posted by Simon Harris on 30th June 2010
Always a pleasure to tackle a Wednesday Dac. I made pretty swift progress through this, though with a few down clues, such as 1 and 13 taking longer than I should admit. 6dn was particularly nice, I thought.
Posted in Independent | 14 Comments »
Posted by kenmac on 30th June 2010
Probably my quickest Inquisitor ever, I had it done-and-dusted in less than an hour.
Posted in Inquisitor | 4 Comments »
Posted by Gaufrid on 30th June 2010
The Wednesday puzzle is usually one towards the more difficult end of the FT spectrum but not today (at least for me).
Posted in FT | 2 Comments »
Posted by Ali on 29th June 2010
Man, this was good!
A very impressive grid construction by Virgilius, in which all bar 7 entries contain MAN, and the remaining 7 all have MAN in the clue.
Posted in Independent | 13 Comments »
Posted by Uncle Yap on 29th June 2010
What a treat to blog Paul with his unique sense of humour and the dashes of risque. I learned a lot of details while searching for answers to explain each clue. Aren’t we all collectors of trivia? Normal people will know the name of the Lone Ranger’s horse but only we, crossword solvers, know the name of Don Quixote de La Mancha’s horse 
Posted in Guardian | 26 Comments »
Posted by Agentzero on 29th June 2010
One of my favourite FT setters, Armonie always has clues with clean, natural surface readings. Maybe a few too many old chestnuts (11 across, 16 across, 18 down have been seen more than a few times, I think), but many compensating clues where definition and subsidiary indication form a seamless whole. Also, I always comment on Armonie’s economy of language, but I am always impressed by it.
Posted in FT | 3 Comments »
Posted by Simon Harris on 28th June 2010
A tough week, I think. I haven’t been able to pull together all the elements in the wordplay for 11ac just yet.
Posted in Beelzebub | 3 Comments »
Posted by Andrew on 28th June 2010
Chifonie steps in on one of the occasional non-Rufus Mondays with a straightforward but nicely clued puzzle.
Posted in Guardian | 23 Comments »
Posted by NealH on 28th June 2010
*=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 ilancaron on 27th June 2010
Sorry for the late blog… no excuses (OK other than 48 World Cup games + Wimbledon). I thought this slightly harder than the run-of-the-mill Azed (oxymoron?). No lack of the requisite mysteries.
Posted in Azed | 6 Comments »
Posted by The Trafites on 27th June 2010
Lorraine: Nothing to taxing this week, made sure I read the clues properly (which helps). I was held up for a while this week as I hadn’t realised that I had spelt Altantic wrong!.
Posted in Everyman | 4 Comments »
Posted by rightback on 26th June 2010
Solving time: 12 mins
Another themed puzzle from Araucaria with lots of references to playing cards, both in clue answers and wordplay. I found this a pleasant enough puzzle with few significant quibbles but nothing really standing out either.
Posted in Guardian | 18 Comments »
Posted by twencelas on 26th June 2010
Well – a seriously convoluted pre-amble this week. Pausing only for a sharp intake of breath, here goes - Removal of abbreviations from one clue in each even numbered down column and rearrangement of the result into a new word; 6 clues contain superfluous letter pairs, which must be identified and removed prior to solving the clue and Extra letters in the wordplay of all bar the answers, that have had abbreviations removed. And that’s not all – another sharp intake of breath – then you need to determine a word (not in Chambers) , which is to be entered as the title of the puzzle, which itself is derived, in some manner, from the additional letters in the wordplay and to finish it off the final grid is to be adjusted to achieve an “objective”. Enough to make the casual crossword -solver wait for next week’s offering, or reach for the Sudoku. But – all in all the ingredients for a very interesting few hours cogitation. Definitely, in my view, the toughest one I’ve blogged yet. And for my second blog in a row the recommended use of a pencil first!
Posted in Enigmatic Variations | 2 Comments »
Posted by nmsindy on 25th June 2010
Always have confidence with Phi that I will get there, this puzzle was no exception, solving time 23 mins.
Posted in Independent | 7 Comments »
Posted by shuchi on 25th June 2010
A very enjoyable puzzle liberally sprinkled with anagrams and cryptic definitions. The clue surfaces are uniformly well-crafted. Specially liked the neat anagram at 8D and the wordplay with ‘bill’ in 23A.
Posted in FT | 5 Comments »
Posted by mhl on 25th June 2010
A great puzzle from Enigmatist – as always, some of the wordplay is difficult to parse, but with the help of my partner I think I’ve got them all. One of the aspects of this puzzle that I think we don’t applaud often enough (although it’s a strong feature of the Guardian crossword) is the breadth (if not depth :)) of cultural references. Anyway, great fun, I thought.
Posted in Guardian | 25 Comments »
Posted by Simon Harris on 24th June 2010
I had just been thinking we must be due for a Saturday Anax, and here we are. I wonder if being able to predict setters several weeks running is an early sign of having spent rather too much time on crosswords.
Posted in Independent | 19 Comments »
Posted by Simon Harris on 24th June 2010
This seemed like a bit of a classic. Unfortunately work issues and inopportunely-timed fire drills meant I couldn’t really give it the attention it deserved, and had to cheat relentlessly. There’s some great stuff in there for sure though.
Posted in Independent | 15 Comments »
Posted by Eileen on 24th June 2010
What a treat! – my favourite compiler and a number of theatrical / literary allusions. I realise that, on both counts, this will not be everyone’s cup of tea but it was right up my street – after the Maths yesterday! Not the easiest Araucaria but fairly typical, I think.
Posted in Guardian | 49 Comments »
Posted by smiffy on 24th June 2010
The usual quotient of merry mischief, to keep us on our toes. Plenty of contenders for ‘clue of the day’ status. I have 15A and 27A still playing out an unresolved Isner vs Mahut-style duel for that honour. Others, no doubt, will have their own faves.
Posted in FT | 7 Comments »
Posted by nmsindy on 24th June 2010
Back on the IoS beat for 1 week as Handel’s gone to France. I found this an extremely easy puzzle, solving time 11 mins.
Posted in Independent | 1 Comment »
Posted by Uncle Yap on 24th June 2010
Monday Prize Crossword on 14 June 2010
Mr Smoothie is here again to tease us with his unique brand of slick surfaces.
Posted in FT | 2 Comments »
Posted by Pete Maclean on 24th June 2010
Prize puzzle from the Weekend FT of June 12
My first impression of this puzzle was that it was too easy. I tore through the clues, the only ones stumping me for more than a few seconds being 26A (TIP-AND-RUN), 29A (OPEN-AND-SHUT) and 21D (EARTHY). It is hard to complain though when there are clues as elegant as 15A (NOON), 20A (SORCERY), 1D (SOLITUDE), 5D (VILLAIN), 6D (RESERVOIR), 14D (CRESCENDO) and 19D (ENDORSE).
Posted in FT | No Comments »
Posted by Simon Harris on 23rd June 2010
After the first four across entries fell straight in, I thought this might be an easy one. Not so, but I got there. In two clues the wordplay escapes me, however, and I’ve reproduced the clues for those in case passers-by fancy a look.
Posted in Beelzebub | 2 Comments »