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 18,290 by PETO

Tue February 10, 2026 at 3:18 am by Cineraria

I have rather a stupefying cold today, so I cannot tell whether this puzzle was hard or I was enfeebled or some combination of the two.

Guardian Cryptic crossword No 29,922 by Philistine

Thu February 5, 2026 at 2:03 am by Cineraria

I am filling in for Eileen again. I regularly blog the Financial Times, so it has been a while since I solved a Philistine . . .

Guardian Cryptic crossword No 29,915 by Qaos

Wed January 28, 2026 at 8:23 amWed January 28, 2026 at 2:48 am by Cineraria

I am filling in for Eileen today. I cut my teeth on the Guardian crossword, but unfortunately, I seldom have time to solve the weekday puzzles anymore.

Financial Times 18,278 by SLORMGORM

Tue January 27, 2026 at 2:39 am by Cineraria

My blogging slot seems to coincide often with Slormgorm’s FT appearances, and once again, I have enjoyed doing the write-up on one of these gems.

Gemelo No. 21 – Half & Half

Sun January 25, 2026 at 7:30 amSun January 25, 2026 at 12:02 am by Cineraria

This is the first Gemelo “special” that calls upon the solver to manipulate the solutions in some unconventional fashion. The puzzle opens with these instructions:

Financial Times 18,272 by PETO

Tue January 20, 2026 at 3:08 am by Cineraria

I am not sure why, but I found this very challenging. Peto’s clues seem perfectly fine, so I don’t know what the disconnect was.

Financial Times 18,266 by SLORMGORM

Tue January 13, 2026 at 2:15 am by Cineraria

Rather a stiff challenge today from Slormgorm, but in the customary witty style

Financial Times 18,254 by GURNEY

Tue December 30, 2025 at 7:15 amTue December 30, 2025 at 2:33 am by Cineraria

Some interesting long solutions today from Gurney.

Financial Times 18,247 by PETO

Tue December 23, 2025 at 2:31 am by Cineraria

In more than one instance, today’s entry from Peto tested my ability to spell out the parsing in a comprehensible fashion . . .

Financial Times 18,240 by GAFF

Tue December 16, 2025 at 3:32 am by Cineraria

This remarkable workout from Gaff bears the epigraph “A birthday puzzle” . . .

Azed No. 2,773 Plain – Competition Puzzle

Sun December 14, 2025 at 12:07 am by Cineraria

I feel privileged to have received an Azed puzzle for my turn at this blog.

Financial Times 18,228 by PETO

Tue December 2, 2025 at 2:26 am by Cineraria

Peto delivers a collection of gimmes, toughies, and NHOs today.

Financial Times 18,222 by SLORMGORM

Tue November 25, 2025 at 2:03 am by Cineraria

A rollicking entry from Slormgorm today . . .

Financial Times 18,216 by GOZO

Tue November 18, 2025 at 3:02 am by Cineraria

Today’s installment from Gozo has the usual assortment of relatively straightforward clues with a number of rather more difficult ones in the mix . . .

Financial Times 18,204 by MUDD

Tue November 4, 2025 at 2:27 am by Cineraria

I usually find Mudd rather breezy and accessible, but I never really hit my stride on today’s puzzle. Except for one minor note, I think the clues are all right, so I am not sure what all my plodding was about.