manehi

Nothing very troublesome from Gordius today. Across 1 TRAFFIC (Craft if)*. Nice &lit 5 SUSTAIN STAIN around US 9 IVY LEAGUE (i.e. vaguely)*, i.e.=”that is” 10 PILOT I=”one” in PLOT 11 LAMP L[arge] … Read more >>

Got through this one fairly quickly. Noticed on writing it up that the charade pieces for 11ac were all recycled from other clues… Across 1 IN ATTENDANCE =”here”. (ain’t)* + TEN=”five couples” + … Read more >>

Found this quite tough to get into but got there in the end… some very clever cluing, I thought. Nice theme of eating and drinking, with some kind of nod towards it in … Read more >>

A welcome break from late night measure theory… pretty quick, with quite a few straightforward cryptic defs and anagrams. Across 1 ACCOLADE as in the conferring of knighthood, which involves “raising the subject … Read more >>

Across 1 SOPHISM OP=work in S[c]HISM 5 INSISTS sounds like “in cysts” 9 POLYP Y[en] in rev(PLOP) 10 UP THE WALL cryptic def 11 NURSE SHARK NURSE=tend to + SH=quiet + ARK=craft 12, … Read more >>

Across 1 PENANCE PENCE around AN 5 LAMPREY LAM+PREY 10 SPRY SPY i.e. “mole” around R[esistance] 11 APOTHEOSIS (Sophie ‘as to)* 12 PRESTO PO around REST – a spider is one of the … Read more >>

As usual, some clever clues, plenty of cryptic definitions and nothing too difficult from Rufus. Across 1 PLATEAU =”highrise flat”. TEA in (Paul)* 5 BEARING double def 10 EGGS cryptic def with “clutch” … Read more >>

Pretty easy today, especially the very straightforward double definitions. Still enjoyable, and 25ac and 17dn made me smile. Across 9 CARGO SHIP O=”nothing” in (graphics)* 10 SIMON rev(IS) + MON[day] 11 INVALID double … Read more >>

Solving and blogging in a rush today – thankfully, I found it fairly easy with the exception of 24ac which I’m unsure on. Liked 4dn. Across 1 MASTERLY (steam)* + RLY 5 PAMPAS … Read more >>

Two long anagrams gave me an quick start to a generally straightforward puzzle, but I’m still stumped by some of the wordplay. Edits thanks to comments Across 1 EXPOSE EX POSE 2 MIGHTY … Read more >>

As often with Araucaria, I’m still a little puzzled but thoroughly entertained. Across 9 ALBATROSS There’s a lake ALO in Nigeria, and SS presumably comes from “southern sea”, but I can’t get the … Read more >>

A gentle but fun return to solving after a few weeks’ holiday. Edits thanks to Lanson and Eileen. Across 8 DECANTER DETER=”put off” around CAN=”tin” 9 LEECH rev(HEEL) around C for cold. 10 … Read more >>

A nice puzzle by Brendan with all but a few clues linked by the “capital” theme. Plenty of nice surfaces, and quite a few hidden clues. Across 1 PEKING PE KING, and the … Read more >>

Found most of this straightforward, but did have to check the definitions of 10, 24 and 27. Particularly liked 12. Across 1 FLAMING FLAMING[o] 5 FORBEAR FOR BEAR 10 OBAN “anything goes” => … Read more >>

Getting 1dn early from a fairly obvious [but incorrect?] anagram made this a bit too easy, which is a pity as there are some nicer clues. A little theme of clues that included … Read more >>