Andrew

After yesterday’s Berkshire, Boatman gives us a puzzle where a large proportion of the clues mention pigs one way or another. Apart from the SW corner, which took me a while to complete, … Read more >>

I was planning to start this blog by saying “it’s been a while since I blogged an Arachne puzzle”, and then found that that was exactly what I said when I last did … Read more >>

A very quick Monday solve, though I had a bit of trouble parsing 5d. Thanks to Rufus.             Across 1. ACCLAIM Chasing a double century, I hit out … Read more >>

On a morning where Schadenfreude at the election result gives some small comfort from the state of the world, Crucible (mostly) takes our minds off it with an entertaining puzzle… … with a … Read more >>

Seeing Imogen’s name usually signals a tough puzzle to come, and this was no exception. A few less-familiar words, but most of the clueing is fair and straightforward in retrospect, so no complaints … Read more >>

It gets harder and harder to say anything new about Rufus – today I’ll just say that I found this very easy even by his standards, and that I expect to have a … Read more >>

As I expected when I saw Vlad’s name, this was pretty tough going, with sudden bursts of progress interrupted by long periods of staring hopelessly at the clues. Of course everything looks reasonably … Read more >>

I found this mostly less tricky than usual for Boatman, but still had a bit of trouble finishing off the top half, not helped by the horrible grid, with four almost isolated corners, … Read more >>

Quite a tough one from Tramp today, but enjoyable as always… … the clues are bristling with references to The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, initially a radio series, and later books and … Read more >>

Another well-judged puzzle from Nutmeg (who you can read about here), with elegant surfaces that reveal a perfectly sound and straightforward construction once you see through the misdirection. For those who care about … Read more >>

The usual quick solve for a Monday morning. There are fewer of Rufus’s trademark cryptic definitions than usual in this one, but I have quibbles about quite a few of the cues, not … Read more >>

Once again Tramp has produced a puzzle with lots of thematic references in the clues, but without the need for solvers to know anything about the theme. It’s not giving anything away to … Read more >>

A very satisfying puzzle from Picaroon today, where I initially made slow progress but gradually made my way through it thanks to sound and inventive clueing. Nice one.           … Read more >>