PeterO's avatarPeterO

Born 1944. I was introduced to cryptics, mainly the Telegraph, in the sixth form, as a group effort. This continued through college (physics), and after, but more sporadically after I moved to the US forty years ago. Now I am semi-retired from programming - I drive school buses - I have time to troll the internet for crosswords to my heart's content. I regularly do the Guardian, Independent FT and Private Eye. Despite rather regular entries to Private Eye and the Guardian Genius, the nearest I have come to winning anything was on a book publishers' website, a crossword compiled by Eddie James, I think. As the prizes included a bottle of Champagne, to avoid customs problems, I entered in my brother-in-law's name. He was somewhat surprised to win.

Everyman N° 3,525

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The puzzle may be found at http://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/everyman/3525. Everyman is branching out – last week a Nina, here a mini-theme, if two Tolkien clues (and maybe in 12A a third, at a pinch) counts … Read more >>

Guardian Cryptic N° 26,229 by Logodaedalus

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The puzzle may be found at http://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/cryptic/26229. Lashings of envelopes, the odd oddity, but basically straightforward.   Across 1. Careless chums must turn to run (8) SLAPDASH A charade of SLAP, a reversal … Read more >>

Guardian Cryptic N° 23,215 by Rufus

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The puzzle may be found at http://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/cryptic/26215. I found this harder than most Rufus puzzles, not helped by some definitions that I find doubtful. He seems to be on an envelope kick.   … Read more >>

Guardian Cryptic N° 26,192 by Arachne

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The puzzle may be found at http://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/cryptic/26192. I was happy to draw an Arachne puzzle to blog, and was not let down. Perhaps not her most intricate offering, but still prime value.   Across … Read more >>

Guardian Cryptic N° 26,185 by Rufus

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The puzzle may be found at http://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/cryptic/26185. A fairly typical Rufus, but showing up some of what I would regard as his weaknesses – the ambiguous answer to 2D, two essentially straight definitions (unless … Read more >>