Ciaran McNulty

A lot of cryptic definitions today, but nothing too fiendish. Across 1. ADMINISTRATES. DISTANTARMIES* 10. CRIME WAVE. cryptic def. 11. MOVER. MOVE + (ap)R(il). 12. OUTRÉ. Centre spread could be (sp)RE(ad) + OUT, … Read more >>

I found it quite challenging today, but that may be a reflection on my own circumstances having started a new job! Managed it all in the end, although 22dn and 5ac felt a … Read more >>

Maybe not as fiendish as some Thursday puzzles, but still tricky – I’m still in the dark about 10ac.  Some lovely clues today, especially 13dn and 11ac. Across 1. BUMPER. Double definition. 4. … Read more >>

An unusual grid and an unusual theme, today.  I don’t think the answers ere particularly linked to the theme, mind you. Across 7. DEPOSED. SEEDPOD* 8. NOWHERE. WON<< + HERE. 9. REND. (cove)R … Read more >>

A nice monday puzzle to start off the week. Across 1. OWN GOAL.  OWN + GOAL.  Own can mean ‘own up’. 5. ILLICIT. IL + LI + C + IT.  Lots of roman … Read more >>

I’d like to dedicate this blog to the beginners who sometimes comment about their dismay at how easy us bloggers say certain puzzles are. This one is, on paper, not too bad but … Read more >>

A really enjoyable grid today, with a couple of royal references.  There are some very clever clues in here, with distinctively misleading surfaces –  I nearly stood up to applaud 20dn, it was … Read more >>

A very fun crossword today, themed around today’s 60th anniversary of the publication of 1984.  I particularly like how the puzzle takes in the book, Orwell himself, and the actual year. Across 5. … Read more >>

* = anagram < = reversed “” = homophone d.d. = double definition c.d. = cryptic definition Across 8. AL JOLSON. JLOALSO* + N 9. TINGE. GET* around IN. 11. OXFORD CLAY. OX … Read more >>

A nice straightforward puzzle today, perhaps a bit more straightforward than most Thursdays.  Quite a lot of anagram and straightforward charades. * = anagram “” = homophone < = reversed d.d. = double … Read more >>

Not really an overall theme today, but a few movie references and some very enjoyable clues. (X) = inserted (x) = removed) * = anagram “” = homophone < = reversed d.d. = … Read more >>

A fairly straightforward puzzle, but with a few clues I wasn’t happy with – some very tortured defs in 12ac, 15ac, 18dn, for instance.  I did like some of the shorter simple clues, … Read more >>

An unfamiliar setter to me, but seems quite fond of anagrams.  In fact once I started to assume every answer was going to be an anagram, the second half went a lot quicker. … Read more >>

Medium difficulty today, I’d say.  No obvious theme aside from maybe 11ac and 1dn! I like Shed normally, and this was no exception – the unknown words all seem to somehow be etymologically … Read more >>

It’s fun to tackle Araucaria on a wednesday, he’s a bit less vicious but still as inventive as ever. I particularly enjoyed the pair of tricky anagrams in 5ac/7dn, the triply-defined 11ac, and … Read more >>