Guardian 24,100 – Audreus/challenging
This was quite tough for a Monday, with some obscure words mixed in with references to Shakespeare, mythology, ancient alphabets and poetry. All in all, it was enjoyable to solve, and took me … Read more >>
loonapick
Guardian 24,098 – Chifonie/a few minutes’ work
Chifonie’s puzzles tend to be fair and on the easier side. This one was no exception (solved in about 7 minutes), although I can’t work out the wordplay for 8dn, so if anyone … Read more >>
Guardian 24,092/Quantum
This puzzle is dominated by four long down entries. Once you have solved them, the rest of the answers become much easier to fathom out. It was generally fair, and there are some … Read more >>
Inquisitor #20/Circumstances by MynoT
For reasons I still don’t quite know, this puzzle took me ages to solve. When I look back on it now, it appears to be fairly straightforward as far as themed puzzles go. … Read more >>
Guardian 24,085 – Araucaria – always a pleasure
When I opened the Guardian website today to see whose puzzle I’d be blogging, I had that familair sense of unease that comes from seeing the name “Araucaria”. Don’t get me wrong – … Read more >>
Guardian 24,071/Brendan – “almost” easy
In my mind, while solving this puzzle, I was thinking that this preamble would say how easy this crossword was, then I came across a word I didn’t know, but was able … Read more >>
Genius 46/Brummie – “having one too many”
This was the least challenging Genius for a while, but it was an enjoyable solve, nonetheless. Once you solved the across clues, you were left with a fairly straightforward anagram, and the down … Read more >>
Guardian 24,064/Audreus – not too hard
A very quick solve (app 8 mins). Most of the clues were very straightforward and the wordplay acceptable. There were a few examples of superfluous linkwords placed in the clue to allow the … Read more >>
Guardian 24,062/Arachne – ducks, drakes and a dragon!
Apologies for the lateness and brevity of this post, but I have already blogged a Times and an Inquisitor today, and submitted a puzzle for publication in a charity newspaper, as well as … Read more >>
Inquisitor #16/Post Lottery by Loda
Solvers’ hint #1: Check the date before tackling a crossword – sometimes it makes the theme blindingly obvious very quickly.Bloggers’ hint #1: If you take your crossword folder on a plane, complete with … Read more >>
Guardian No 24,055/Chifonie – hmmm…?
I have to admit that Chifonie is not by favourite setter, and in my opinion, this puzzle has too many loose definitions/wordplay, and at least one clue I can’t parse (see below). Sorry … Read more >>
Inquisitor #14/Just in Case by Nutmeg
Just in time for Easter, Nutmeg provided us with a crossword about that most ubiquitous of nannies, Mary Poppins although more exactly, it was based on one word used in that movie. Generally, … Read more >>
Guardian 24,048/Quantum – quick post
Apologies for the tardiness and brevity of this post, but I have been at a full-day seminar in sunny Perth all day, so have not been able to get online until now. When … Read more >>
Guardian 24,046/Rufus – another CD collection
When you see that the compiler is Rufus, you know you are in for a glut of cryptic defintions, some more cryptic than others, and today’s puzzle had seven or eight of them, … Read more >>
Guardian 24,041/Shed – Religion? Bah, humbug!
An enjoyable and challenging Tuesday puzzle from Shed. Once you get the two longer answers, the rest is just clever enough to keep you interested, which is a good trick to carry off. … Read more >>