manehi

Tough, but excellent puzzle on a topical theme. Plenty of clever clues and surfaces, and I groaned aloud at 1dn. [There is a thematic nina around the edge of the grid, going clockwise.] … Read more >>

A little gentler than usual from Pasquale, but very enjoyable – I really liked 11ac, 23ac and 10dn. Across 1 Severely punish, making someone accept work forcibly? (5,3,4,2) THROW THE BOOK AT Literally … Read more >>

Got quite stuck several times, mostly in the NW corner, but really enjoyed this. Favourites were 17ac and 19dn. Across 1 Tree dweller’s westbound US ruffle work (6) POSSUM =”Tree dweller”. reversal=”westbound”, of … Read more >>

This took three sittings, even after guessing at the theme from the wordplay of 10ac early in my second attempt. 5ac, 16dn and 21dn were unfamiliar but gettable in the end. Favourites 11ac … Read more >>

Good fun from Paul today, though not too difficult as once I figured out the theme there were quite a few write-ins. Theme: L is the first letter of Labour, or the “Labour … Read more >>

Found this pretty tough, with 24ac/1dn, 11ac and 14dn all unfamiliar. Favourite clues were 8ac, 10ac and 25ac. Edit thanks to grandpuzzler Across 1 ACCRA Heading west, curve around port (5) =”port”. Reversal … Read more >>

Some tough cluing here, I struggled after getting the long 19d solution almost immediately. Favourites were 11ac, 22ac, 16dn and the groan-worthy 8dn. edited, thanks to cholecyst and Eileen Across 1 TESTIS =”ball” … Read more >>

Found this very slow going, and had to come back to it twice in the end. Lovely cluing throughout, my favourites were 14ac and 22dn. Thanks for the comments re: 9dn, and (especially … Read more >>

Nothing too tricky here, but all very smoothly done. Favourites were 15ac, 3dn and 14dn. Across 1 CURTSY =”Bob” CURT=”brusque” + S[l]Y=”heartlessly cunning” 4 ALCOPOP =”drink” A + COP=”bobby” inside LOP=”dock”=cut the end … Read more >>

Very straightforward from Rufus today. I liked 12ac, 17ac, 8dn and especially 25dn. Across 1 SERVICE cryptic def The start of proceedings on a tennis court. 5 CHABLIS =”Wine” (cash bill)*, minus L=Roman … Read more >>

Found this tough, though all the cluing was very fair. Favourites were 5dn and 15dn. Across 1 PLUNDER =”Rob” bLUNDER=”mistake”, with a “misprinting” of the “initial letter” 5 FLUSHED =”looking roseate” FLU=”Illness”, SHED=”got … Read more >>

Got through most of this quickly, but came unstuck for a long while on the last two – 21ac then 7dn. Favourite clues were 2dn and 8ac. Across 1 PAPER CLIP cryptic def … Read more >>

Not too difficult, but I really enjoyed this. 2dn in particular stood out, but there was a lot of clever cluing and surfaces here (10, 22, 24, 12dn…) Across 7 XEROXES =”runs off” … Read more >>

Found this quite tough for a Rufus – the SE corner held me up, and I had to resort to Google for 25ac given the unhelpful crossers. Favourite clues were 6dn and 8dn, … Read more >>

Fun and challenging, despite the two longer clues falling almost immediately. Favourites were 15a and 3d. Across 8 TERRAPIN =”reptile” (painter)* around R[ex]=”king” 10 STOW =”stuff” [as a verb] rev(WOT’S) – my Chambers … Read more >>