Maybe a post-holiday malaise but I made heavy weather of this.
Year: 2016
Guardian Genius 155, by Puck
6 months comes around quickly, and it’s my turn on the Genius slot once more. I thought this was a great puzzle. The device was fairly straightforward, but the standard of clueing, misdirection, … Read more >>
Azed 2295
A plain Azed puzzle this time generating the usual challenges. There were three compound anagram clues this week (13 across [NIKAU], 34 across [REDD] and 21 down [EJECTA]. They are … Read more >>
Independent Crossword 9248 by Donk
Well it’s a puzzle from Donk this week and a grid layout that I regard as one of the hardest with almost four distinct mini grids with minimal overlap. And yes it proved … Read more >>
Enigmatic Variations No.1227 – Thinking Outside the Box by Piccadilly
Thinking Outside the Box is an ‘enter where they will fit’ puzzle. These typically require a lot of cold solving, so we’re (more than usually) at the mercy of the setter. If the clues are very difficult, these take a great deal of work. So how much thinking – inside or outside the box – will Piccadilly’s puzzle require?
Guardian Prize 26,896 by Paul
I find Paul’s crosswords more varied than most of his contemporaries, one is never sure what one is going to get. It might be an easy-peasy puzzle or it might be a stinker; it could be serious or it could be puerile and frivolous. Today Paul is in fairly subdued mood, nothing outrageous but not completely serious either. Thanks Paul, please keep them coming.
Independent 9247 / Phi
It’s Friday, it’s Phi so all’s well with the world. There were a number of literary allusions in the clues and in the grid today but I’m not sure whether … Read more >>
Financial Times 15,257 by WANDERER
A pleasant challenge from Wanderer this Friday. Clean cluing meant a steady solve, and also one new word that I learnt today.
Guardian Cryptic 26,901 by Paul
The puzzle may be found at https://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/cryptic/26901.
Guardian 26,900 / Bonxie
My apologies for being rather later than usual with the blog: I had various computer problems, resulting in losing the blog altogether. Bonxie puzzles are rather rare and I was pleased to see … Read more >>
Financial Times 15,256 by CHALMIE
A tough Thursday workout
Independent 9,246 by Morph
Morph has given us his usual very sound and pleasant crossword. It was always my impression that Morph’s clues were on the wordy side, but I counted them (yes I really did, I have to admit) and the average word-length of each clue is only 7, which compares quite favourably with Dean Mayer’s last Sunday Times puzzle of 6.8. I had always thought that Dean’s clues were particularly pithy, but this one was not all that far behind. Anyway, perhaps it’s a bit silly to focus on length: quality is what it’s about, and there was plenty of quality here.
Financial Times 15,247 – Dante
Monday Prize Crossword / May 23, 2016
Dante likes his double and cryptic definitions. But is that shocking news? No.
Financial Times 15,246 by Goliath
Prize puzzle from the Weekend FT of May 21, 2016
Financial Times 15,255 by IO
Difficult to solve and difficult to blog. Just plain difficult really. There are a couple of solutions that I still can’t explain even after a protracted search. Thank you Io for the mental workout and another chastening experience!