Andrew

A very entertaining puzzle from Picaroon, where I realised early on what was happening in 10 across (after getting 23/12), but that didn’t make the other thematic phrases any easier to solve. I … Read more >>

A typically straightforward puzzle from Chifone, with the usual preponderance of charades. Perhaps a couple of slightly obscure answers, but nothing to delay regular solvers for long.             … Read more >>

My hearyt sank rather when I saw the Logodaedalus, as his puzzles tend to be on the excessively easy side (and sometimes with irrelevant rhyming couplets). However, while there were still quite a … Read more >>

This was another of those looks-hard-at-first-but-comes-out-nicely-once-you-get-going puzzles, which is just the kind I like, so thanks to Nutmeg for the entertainment. For those who missed it, Nutmeg (Margaret Irvine) appeared on Woman’s Hour … Read more >>

Slightly trickier than the average Rufus, I thought, with fewer cryptic definitions than usual, making it seem more like a “normal” puzzle. Thanks to Rufus.             Across 9. … Read more >>

I didn’t enjoy this as much as some other Qaos puzzles, as I think there are some dodgy constructions, and a couple of rather weak CDs. However, there are are some great clues … Read more >>

I found this a lot easier than some of Nutmeg’s recent offerings in the Cryptic spot; in fact some of the clues seem more in the style of the Quiptic. There seem to … Read more >>

An enjoyable puzzle from Crucible that wasn’t too hard once I spotted the theme (even though I didn’t get the linking word at 9d until quite late on). A couple of slightly obscure … Read more >>

Things got off to a bad start when I went to the Guardian site and saw that “this crossword is not yet available” (as it’s still saying as I write this at 9.20am). … Read more >>

For some reason I found this harder going than usual for a Rufus, with the bottom half causing the most trouble. The grid doesn’t help: with no answers longer than nine letters it’s … Read more >>

It’s always a pleasure to see Tramp’s name on a puzzle, but I was worried when I found it took me a while to make any progress. Fortunately I managed it in the … Read more >>

A strange mixture of clues from Boatman today – some very obvious from either defintion or wordplay, some a lot trickier, an outrageous lift-and-separate that I’m not at all keen on but I’m … Read more >>