Andrew

A pleasant surprise to see Nutmeg’s name today, but this was definitely not your usual “easy” Monday puzzle, with a couple of obscure words and some tricky clueing. So, a slight shock to … Read more >>

Well, that was fun! Another of Tramp’s puzzles where many of the clues are related to a theme, but almost no knowledge of the theme is needed to solve them. The theme of … Read more >>

Although Philistine has been setting in the Guardian since July 2011, I don’t ever seem to have blogged one of his puzzles, at least not for some time. But better late than never, … Read more >>

This looked rather impenetrable at first, but I was lucky to guess the key phrase at 2d etc early on, which gave lots of crossing letters as well as a hint to other … Read more >>

As is often the case with Nutmeg’s puzzles, I found this quite hard to get into, but in retrospect it’s all very clearly and soundly clued, so a satisfying and enjoyable solve. Thanks … Read more >>

A typicla Rufus, with lots of double and cryptic definitions – some of the latter rather weak or vague for my taste. Also a few examples of words or devies being used more … Read more >>

An enjoyable puzzle from Crucible, with lots of links to the key answer at 3,23,25, which luckily I got early on (working back from 24a). Just one homophonic quibble, but otherwise very soundly … Read more >>

I must have been on Picaroon’s wavelength today, because this all went in very smoothly, even though in retrospect there are a few quite involved clues. (In contrast, I found myself struggling much … Read more >>

After yesterday’s expert duffing-up by Vlad I was expecting (or hoping for?) something a little gentler today, but I found this one pretty hard too. However, it was soundly and accurately clued (apart … Read more >>

I started off slowly on this one (for no obvious reason), but it yielded steadily, making a very enjoyable and satisfying solve. Thanks to Shed.             Across 9. … Read more >>

A very characteristic Rufus puzzle, with lots of double and cryptic definitions. These can sometimes cause a bit of a hold-up, but I found this a very quick solve, with lots of write-ins. … Read more >>

Tramp rounds off an excellent, if challenging, week in fine style with a puzzle teeming with references to Alfred Hitchcock and his films, though I think there’s only one place where knowledge of … Read more >>