Quirister

I learned to do crosswords from my parents, who also introduced me to choral singing and classical languages (they met in a choir while studying Classics / History at university). Perhaps not the most obvious background for an Engineering degree, but the language and problem-solving skills turned out to be useful for working as a technical author in the software industry. Meanwhile all the fun stuff (sewing, cooking and various crafts as well as the singing) gradually took over more of my time . . . so eventually I decided that 30 years’ working life was enough. I now do a range of different volunteer tasks and need a good diary to keep track of it all. As they say: once you retire, you wonder how you ever found time to go to work.

Everyman 3,833

Sun April 5, 2020 at 12:01 am by Quirister

Perhaps a slightly trickier than usual Everyman this week. The Guardian crosswords blog is still recommending Everyman as a puzzle suitable for beginners. I’m not always convinced; some of the clues here are … Read more >>

Independent 10,440 by Silvanus

Mon March 30, 2020 at 9:00 am by Quirister

Silvanus provides today’s brain exercise for frustrated social distancers. A good mixture of the straightforward, the tricky-but-fair, and the slightly sneaky. And it’s a pangram too (includes every letter of the alphabet). Plenty … Read more >>

Quiptic 1,061 by Matilda

Mon March 16, 2020 at 9:00 am by Quirister

Another enjoyable Quiptic from Matilda this morning. (Or last Thursday, for those who noticed it was erroneously published early under the Cryptic heading on the Guardian website.) The wordplay in 11a and the … Read more >>

Independent 10,422 by Tees

Mon March 9, 2020 at 9:31 amMon March 9, 2020 at 9:00 am by Quirister

Oh, good, another Tees puzzle in my blog schedule. Always an enjoyable challenge. Some of these took a bit of working out: there are some slightly obscure definitions, such as 18d and the … Read more >>

Everyman 3,829

Sun March 8, 2020 at 11:34 amSun March 8, 2020 at 12:01 am by Quirister

One of Everyman’s better crosswords this weekend, at least in my opinion. As we’ve come to expect, we have a related pair of longish answers (the with / without of 3d / 11d), … Read more >>

Quiptic 1,057 by Anto

Mon February 17, 2020 at 12:53 pmMon February 17, 2020 at 10:44 am by Quirister

Anto is providing our entertainment today: mostly straightforward with a few tricky moments. I made steady progress with this, then realised I’d got absolutely nothing in the SW corner. That held out for … Read more >>

Independent 10,404 by Gila

Mon February 17, 2020 at 9:00 am by Quirister

Thanks Gila for an enjoyable challenge this morning. Gila is testing us with a wide range of cultural influences (art, literature and music); there are a few unusual words but the clues are … Read more >>

Everyman 3,825

Sun February 9, 2020 at 12:01 am by Quirister

A bit of a mixed bag this week: mostly straightforward, some excellent clues, but a few slightly iffy ones. I enjoyed most of this, but a few clues look as though Everyman didn’t … Read more >>

Independent 10,386 by Silvanus

Mon January 27, 2020 at 9:00 am by Quirister

An enjoyable challenge from Silvanus today: not the easiest, but with that important quality of “obviously right once you see it”. The neat surfaces hide a good variety of clue constructions, including the … Read more >>

Everyman 3,821

Sun January 12, 2020 at 1:08 pmSun January 12, 2020 at 12:01 am by Quirister

Everyman starts the New Year with . . . well, more of the same; bending the rules a bit but generally fun. There are a couple of names that might not be familiar … Read more >>

Guardian Cryptic 28,025 by Nutmeg

Thu January 9, 2020 at 6:02 pmThu January 9, 2020 at 9:30 am by Quirister

A tricky but enjoyable challenge today. As always, Nutmeg provides lovely surfaces, some of them also very neatly concise: 15a, 19a and 24d for example. She also enjoys definitions ranging from the slightly … Read more >>

Independent 10,368 by Vigo

Mon January 6, 2020 at 9:30 am by Quirister

A nice straightforward puzzle for the first Monday of the new year. My fellow bloggers have commented before that Vigo’s puzzles are good examples for beginners who want to learn how this cryptic … Read more >>

Quiptic 1,049 by Hectence

Mon December 23, 2019 at 10:28 am by Quirister

Another excellent Quiptic from Hectence today. There’s a wide variety of clue constructions, including many old favourite tricks, but nothing too obscure; the surfaces are very good too. If you’re trying to introduce … Read more >>

Independent 10,351 by Tees

Mon December 16, 2019 at 9:00 am by Quirister

Tees and I often seem to meet in my Monday blogging slot. It’s always an enjoyable encounter, though sometimes trickier than one might expect for a Monday. As usual, Tees draws on a … Read more >>

Everyman 3,817

Sun December 15, 2019 at 1:00 am by Quirister

A fairly straightforward Everyman this week. As we’ve come to expect, there are lots of anagrams and anagram indicators, a few slightly contrived definitions, and punctuation that’s put there to hinder rather than … Read more >>