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.

Financial Times N° 13, 897 by Armonie

Tue January 10, 2012 at 3:03 am by PeterO

Wandering from my usual Guardian beat, I find a puzzle by John Dawson, whom I know better as his alter ego Chifonie; the results are much the same, with straightforward clue construction, smooth surfaces and some ingenious misdirection. John Dawson gives his main interests as crosswords, music, and walking in the Lake District. Could one ask for anything more?

Quiptic N° 633 by Beale

Mon January 2, 2012 at 12:15 pmMon January 2, 2012 at 5:18 am by PeterO

It took me a little while to get into Beale’s style of clue, but once I got used to it, things went quickly.

Guardian Cryptic N° 25,512 by Paul

Thu December 22, 2011 at 3:17 pmThu December 22, 2011 at 2:58 am by PeterO

Happy holidays all round, with a delightful Christmas present from Paul.

Guardian Quiptic N° 629, by Pan

Mon December 5, 2011 at 3:28 am by PeterO

I found the left hand side fell out very easily; the right took a little longer, but followed in due course, ending in the NE corner.

Guardian Cryptic N° 25, 493 by Brendan

Wed November 30, 2011 at 3:59 am by PeterO

A thorough working-out of a theme by Brenda, which I found very satisfying.

Everyman Nº 3,398 (13 November 2011)

Sun November 20, 2011 at 11:28 amSun November 20, 2011 at 12:01 am by PeterO

Everyman continues to provide a wide variety of clue types, with smooth surfaces. As is often the case, there are several geographic references which may not be known to many of his solvers … Read more >>

Guardian Quiptic N° 625, by Don Putnam

Mon November 7, 2011 at 3:16 am by PeterO

Notably simple constructions here, but one, 11A, I only got by the skin of my teeth.

Guardian Cryptic N° 25,473 by Rufus

Mon November 7, 2011 at 3:17 amMon November 7, 2011 at 2:22 am by PeterO

A particularly straightforward start to the week from Rufus.

Guardian Cryptic N° 25,459 by Boatman

Fri October 21, 2011 at 1:45 pmFri October 21, 2011 at 4:21 am by PeterO

I found this tough going; either I am not on Boatman’s wavelength today, or he is committing some remarkably loose constructions. Still, there is much to like in the puzzle. Any shortcomings in the blog are the result of spending most of my time unravelling the wordplay in 1A!

Quiptic N° 621, by Hectence

Mon October 10, 2011 at 3:08 am by PeterO

A crossword with some wordplays surprisingly complex for a Quiptic, and, shall we say, some examples of questionable construction to educate the beginner. Across 1. Keep a gorilla initially captured from wild (6) … Read more >>

Everyman N° 3,392 (2nd. October 2011)

Sun October 9, 2011 at 11:05 pmSun October 9, 2011 at 12:01 am by PeterO

This would have made for a pleasant Sunday afternoon, except that I finished it Saturday evening.

Guardian Cryptic N° 25,440 by Paul

Thu September 29, 2011 at 2:57 am by PeterO

A breezy outing with Paul.

Guardian Quiptic N° 617 by Nutmeg

Mon September 12, 2011 at 11:42 am by PeterO

I have blogged a couple of Quiptics by Nutmeg before, and they each have their own character. In this one, I think she has hit the Quiptic target squarely, with clues going for concision rather than elaborate storytelling, seamless surfaces, and a wide variety of cryptic devices.

Guardian N° 25,421 by Arachne

Wed September 7, 2011 at 12:37 pmWed September 7, 2011 at 4:06 am by PeterO

Again my lot comes up with Arachne, which is fine by me. There were several clues where I was reasonably sure of the answers, but the exact wordplay came to me afterwards, and one, 15D, for which I still await enlightenment.

Everyman N° 3,386 (21 August 2011)

Sun August 28, 2011 at 5:25 pmSun August 28, 2011 at 12:01 am by PeterO

A pleasant solve, with a good variety of clue types. A certain amount of general knowledge is required, but nothing seems to me to be too obscure, although in 11A we have the … Read more >>