PeterO

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° 3,425 (27 May 2012)

Sun June 3, 2012 at 12:01 am by PeterO

I seem to detect a range of clue devices a little more limited than usual for Everyman, but the smooth surfaces are par for the course.

Guardian Cryptic N° 25,651 by Orlando

Fri June 1, 2012 at 11:20 amFri June 1, 2012 at 3:11 am by PeterO

I found this a bit of a struggle, but it yielded in the end, with the bottom half going in first. Across 1. Engineer in a car plant (6) ARNICA An anagram (‘engineer’) … Read more >>

Guardian Cryptic N° 25,645 by Araucaria

Fri May 25, 2012 at 1:53 pmFri May 25, 2012 at 4:38 am by PeterO

A typically delightful offering from Araucaria.

Guardian Quiptic N° 653, by Arachne

Mon May 21, 2012 at 3:44 pmMon May 21, 2012 at 2:45 pm by PeterO

Apologies for the late blog; I failed to note it was my turn until the last minute.

Guardian Cryptic N° 25,637 by Paul

Wed May 16, 2012 at 1:02 pmWed May 16, 2012 at 2:15 am by PeterO

This shows Paul’s characteristic inventiveness in wordplay; fortunately I seem to be close to his wavelength. Across 1. See 15 – See 15 4. Fiddle with good seafood (6) SCAMPI A charade of … Read more >>

Guardian Cryptic N° 25,631 by Bonxie

Thu May 10, 2012 at 2:15 pmWed May 9, 2012 at 2:52 am by PeterO

I put this mostly at the easier end of the spectrum, but none the less pleasing for that; but in reviewing the writeup, I see that I found quite a number of the answers required special comment or explanatory link .

Everyman N° 3,421 (29 April)

Sun May 6, 2012 at 12:01 am by PeterO

I have not been able to polish this blog as intended, as I am coming off a bout of flu, but I think its is all there.

Guardian Cryptic N° 25,627 by Arachne

Fri May 4, 2012 at 3:39 pmFri May 4, 2012 at 3:20 am by PeterO

Arachne is becoming one of the most eagerly-awaited setters in the Guardian stable…

Guardian Cryptic N° 25,621 by Crucible

Fri April 27, 2012 at 3:03 am by PeterO

I found this an inventive and amusing challenge.

Guardian Quiptic N° 649 by Pan

Mon April 23, 2012 at 8:16 amMon April 23, 2012 at 2:25 am by PeterO

I found this slow going at first, because of the lack of answers which leapt out at me, but it came out handily in the end. Across 1. Attack garden pest with empty … Read more >>

Guardian Cryptic N° 25,613 by Paul

Wed April 18, 2012 at 2:11 am by PeterO

As usual, the definition is underlined in each clue.

Guardian Cryptic N° 25,607 by Orlando

Wed April 11, 2012 at 2:09 am by PeterO

A very satisfying puzzle – not too difficult, with a plethora of ingenious and witty devices. Across 1. Last queen but one between posts (6) KEEPER A charade of KEEP (‘last’) + ER … Read more >>

Guardian Cryptic N° 25,603 by Philistine

Fri April 6, 2012 at 5:00 pmFri April 6, 2012 at 2:58 am by PeterO

Uncle Yap seems to have been hogging Philistine’s blogs recently, and I am happy to take this one from him. The crossword is marked by some quite unusual wordplays (wordsplay?).

Guardian Quiptic N° 645, by Nutmeg

Mon March 26, 2012 at 2:52 am by PeterO

Nutmeg fulfills the Quiptic brief very well.

Everyman N°3,415 (18th March)

Sun March 25, 2012 at 12:01 am by PeterO

Here we have Everyman’s usual mix of not-too-convoluted wordplays under impeccable surfaces. There are no geographical references to worry about, but a couple of words which might stretch your vocabulary. Across 1. Something … Read more >>