Oh good. I get to crack a Knut,
and blog it.
Knut has made a name for including recent events in puzzles and this is no exception.
beermagnet
Private Eye Cyclops/603) Blatant Schemer
Another Trump-ridden grid. I am getting too used to seeing the Donald used in wordplay. A year ago, six months ago even, it provided a new stamping ground for ironic humour. But he’s still there! Somehow. … Read more >>
Independent 9584 by Radian
Radian making a rare Saturday appearance with a puzzle that made a fool of me, twice! Solving went well to begin with. I made a note: A dozen clues answered at the first pass. Later … Read more >>
Private Eye (Cyclops/601) Cold snap
A few references to the recent election campaign were included in this grid. The groan-worthy “Strong and stable” will surely be remembered for decades. It is really astonishing how much untruth Lynton Crosby … Read more >>
Private Eye (Cyclops/599) Mild Propaganda
Cyclops often creates puzzles with clues that range over 2 or more lights in different parts of the grid. I like the way this gives the puzzle a more three dimensional feel and … Read more >>
Independent 9554 Klingsor
The Saturday schedule and the blogging cycle is aligned! I get Klingsor again same as I did at his last Saturday outing, which is no bad thing. This time, solving started as before … Read more >>
Private Eye (Cyclops/597) Phone-tapping Constituency
Some very fine clues in this crossword I thought. Some well hidden definitions masquerading as wordplay, and slick surface readings to suggest unassociated subjects meant this was another pleasure to solve. Particularly with clues … Read more >>
Independent 9524 (Sat 22-Apr 2017) Klingsor
With Klingsor back again on a Saturday things can’t be too bad. Solving was a pleasure. Half the grid was filled on first pass – precisely: 14 out of the 28 clues entered. … Read more >>
Private Eye / Cyclops 595 Notorious Schemer
With plenty of time between solving this puzzle and the target Monday for publishing this blog, I nevertheless yet again find myself writing this up on a Sunday evening, creaking after doing too … Read more >>
Independent 9494 (Sat 18-Mar 2017) Tyrus
Tyrus seems to appear less frequently than of old. I have both tackled and blogged a fair few in the Saturday slot, and I generally find his puzzles harder than most. This time, … Read more >>
Private Eye/Cyclops 593 Grim truth
… and the grim truth is – it isn’t all just a joke This was solved at a rate of knots. Straight in with the unwelcome reminder of current government policy at 7A … Read more >>
Independent 9464 (Sat 11-Feb 2017) Nestor
This was a puzzle where the “All Reversed” method was used in the wordplay many more times than usual. Not that I noticed till writing the blog. I’m certainly happy to see Nestor’s … Read more >>
Private Eye/Cyclops 591 Repress Science
Cyclops is giving us a very bleak analysis of the state of the world with a Trump heavy set of clues However the puzzle itself proved to be one of the quickest solves … Read more >>
Private Eye/Cyclops 589 Xmas Pseudding
It’s Christmas! So it’s the giant 21×21 sized Eye crossword with some special feature. This puzzle has a preamble: Running clockwise around the shaded squares, starting top left, are two sentences from a 2016 … Read more >>
Independent 9434 (Sat 7-Jan 2017) Serpent
The blogging cycle brings me Serpent again which is no bad thing. Serpent has brought some innovation to the puzzles done so far both in terms of themes and clueing, and the same … Read more >>