Cineraria

Born in 1963, I began with crosswords as a little boy by “helping” my grandfather with the puzzle in the Richmond Times-Dispatch. I have done American-style crosswords since I was a teenager, and I enjoy many other types of word puzzles, including cryptograms and acrostics. I cannot remember when I discovered cryptic crosswords. I used to do the Guardian puzzle every day, but being a lawyer by profession does not leave me a lot of time to indulge my deliberate yet desultory solving method. I have been doing the Guardian Prize every Friday and the Azed every Saturday since 2020, and the Genius every month since 2018 (typically succeeding, but admittedly with some DNFs). I was even gratified to be a Genius winner a few years ago. I have learned an awful lot from studying the post-mortems on fifteensquared. As for other interests, I have a large collection of origami books, and I like folding the most complicated models I can find.

Financial Times 17,410 by STEERPIKE

Tue May 9, 2023 at 1:31 pmTue May 9, 2023 at 4:14 am by Cineraria

A bit of a workout from Steerpike . . .

Financial Times 17,396 by AARDVARK

Tue April 25, 2023 at 2:00 pmTue April 25, 2023 at 5:02 am by Cineraria

I found three-fourths of this clear sailing, and for the final quarter, Aardvark really dialed up the ingenuity. I hope I have accounted for everything satisfactorily.

Azed No. 2,652 Plain

Tue April 25, 2023 at 9:48 pmTue April 25, 2023 at 12:02 am by Cineraria

This week’s puzzle seemed relatively straightforward, with some nice surfaces and only a few notes/questions indicated below.

Financial Times 17,390 by BUCCANEER

Tue April 18, 2023 at 5:49 pmTue April 18, 2023 at 2:54 am by Cineraria

The four long perimeter clues made this a slow solve for me on this challenge from Buccaneer . . .

Financial Times 17,384 by JASON

Tue April 11, 2023 at 2:38 am by Cineraria

A fine Tuesday challenge.

Financial Times 17,370 by PETO

Tue March 28, 2023 at 4:50 amTue March 28, 2023 at 4:00 am by Cineraria

On my first pass at today’s offering from Peto, I was baffled by about half the clues, . . .

Financial Times 17,363 by AARDVARK

Tue March 21, 2023 at 8:31 pmTue March 21, 2023 at 4:30 am by Cineraria

Maybe I am just tired tonight, but I really struggled with this puzzle, and consequently, did not enjoy it very much. From an objective assessment, I cannot fault the clues, many of which really are inventive. Please let me know if I missed any nuances.

Financial Times 17,357 by GOZO

Tue March 14, 2023 at 3:09 am by Cineraria

A fun theme puzzle from Gozo today.

Azed No. 2,646 ‘Cherchez la Femme’ – Competition Puzzle

Tue March 14, 2023 at 12:08 am by Cineraria

This is the first ‘Cherchez la Femme’ since Azed 2,515 on August 22, 2020, which was one of the first few Azed puzzles that I ever attempted, and the first Azed “special” that I completed, so it is a particular treat for this to have come up on my turn at the blog.

Financial Times 17,338 by MUDD

Tue February 21, 2023 at 2:52 am by Cineraria

I did not spot anything too tricky from Mudd today . . .

Financial Times 17,332 by AARDVARK

Tue February 14, 2023 at 4:16 am by Cineraria

I have been laid up with a cold the past few days, but I think I pierced the fog sufficiently to explain today’s very diverting Aardvark.

Financial Times 17,320 by FALCON

Tue January 31, 2023 at 2:38 am by Cineraria

Falcon advises: “Today marks the end of the Yule season.”

Azed No. 2,640 Plain

Tue January 31, 2023 at 3:20 pmTue January 31, 2023 at 1:19 am by Cineraria

A mostly straightforward Plain offering this week, with a few wrinkly clues in the mix.

Financial Times 17,313 by GURNEY

Wed January 25, 2023 at 3:58 pmTue January 24, 2023 at 2:34 am by Cineraria

Some clever clues today from Gurney . . .

Financial Times 17,307 by SLORMGORM

Tue January 17, 2023 at 8:07 pmTue January 17, 2023 at 2:15 am by Cineraria

An agreeable puzzle today from Slormgorm . . .