beermagnet – Page 22 – Fifteensquared

Independent 8177 (Sat 29-December 2012) Tees

Sat January 5, 2013 at 12:10 am by beermagnet

The gods of the old year brought me another Tees to blog, which is fine by me. I always find Tees’ puzzles a pleasure as his clues always make some kind of sense … Read more >>

Independent 8148 (Sat 24-November 2012) Tees

Sat December 1, 2012 at 12:02 am by beermagnet

I always like puzzles by Tees and there was plenty to appreciate here: A wide range of clue devices, Offbeat references within suitable surfaces, Cheeky theme. There were a few obscurities that required looking … Read more >>

Private Eye / Cyclops 482 – Ungodly control

Mon November 26, 2012 at 11:52 amMon November 26, 2012 at 12:05 am by beermagnet

This was certainly a topping crossword … …there were a variety of tops in it: Jersey, Poncho, Kimono. I must’ve been “on song” solving this, one lunchtime, as I had solved all but … Read more >>

Private Eye / Cyclops 481 – Beer thoughts

Mon November 12, 2012 at 12:01 am by beermagnet

I have had a couple of weeks of utterly manic work and have been meaning to do this blog for ages, but here we are, late Sunday and it’s not started and I’m … Read more >>

Private Eye/Cyclops 480 – Long to reign over us …

Mon October 29, 2012 at 7:07 amMon October 29, 2012 at 12:15 am by beermagnet

… and under us. As this grid is topped and tailed with Kate and Wills on the top and bottom, and in the middle row. All these had clues of the same kind … Read more >>

Independent 8118 (Sat 20-Oct-2012) Nimrod

Sat October 27, 2012 at 12:29 pmSat October 27, 2012 at 12:15 am by beermagnet

Nimrod has put on his fedora, strapped his bullwhip to his belt, stuffed a revolver in his shirt and gone on an archeological adventure in Chambers. And we had to follow in his … Read more >>

Private Eye/Cyclops 479 – Money Laundering

Mon October 15, 2012 at 12:15 am by beermagnet

I solved this one before I realised I was going to blog it and haven’t made any contemporaneous notes. I can’t even remember which was the first clue answered, nor which was the … Read more >>

Private Eye/Cyclops 478 – Rodent sandwich

Mon October 1, 2012 at 12:15 am by beermagnet

An enjoyable solve. Although more than half fell in the first pass, the rest needed deconstruction of some interesting wordplay. Solving and blogging this took place at a time when there was a … Read more >>

Independent 8088 (Prize 15-Sep-2012) Bannsider

Sat September 22, 2012 at 11:59 amSat September 22, 2012 at 12:05 am by beermagnet

Bannsider has raided his “special list”. You know the one… … The one he compiles when leafing through Chambers and comes across something outrageous, preferably in a sub-entry so it’s especially hard to spot. … Read more >>

Private Eye/Cyclops 476 – Moving Glass Top

Mon September 3, 2012 at 12:30 am by beermagnet

If I say I only had 5 to go after the “first pass” (all clues attempted) that will make it seem it was a easy Eye crossword or else I was on fire. … Read more >>

Independent 8064 (Sat 18-August 2012) Nestor

Sat August 25, 2012 at 12:30 am by beermagnet

I’m always happy to tackle a Nestor crossword. Solving was similar to my previous experience of his work: A few accessible clues to get started. Several novel wordplay techniques to delight. A few … Read more >>

Private Eye/Cyclops 474 – Not to win, but … aghast

Mon August 6, 2012 at 12:15 am by beermagnet

It may have passed you by, but the Olympics is on at the moment in London, and Cyclops chose to draw attention to it by including a couple of well-known Olympic mottoes in … Read more >>

Independent 8028 (Sat 07-July 2012) Monk

Sat July 14, 2012 at 6:42 pmSat July 14, 2012 at 12:15 am by beermagnet

I think I am beginning to recognise Monk’s style. Straight, non-thematic crosswords clued with a range of difficulty. Some relatively accessible clues to start with, but nothing too obvious, so you can make … Read more >>

Private Eye/Cyclops 472 Stylish tyranny

Mon July 9, 2012 at 12:15 am by beermagnet

Back to a slightly tougher crossword this time. At least that’s how I found it, both to get started and to find those last pesky couple of answers. I’ll admit after getting started, … Read more >>

Private Eye / Cyclops 470 – Up Yours, Lobster

Mon June 11, 2012 at 6:24 amMon June 11, 2012 at 12:15 am by beermagnet

There was no obvious Jubilee theme from Cyclops – I assume he compiled it whilst wearing his union jack bowtie. Solving initially seemed a little slow, but once a few answers delivered some … Read more >>