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Solving time: 45 mins This Christmas special from Araucaria included several literary works, mostly with religious connotations, as referenced in the preamble. The Kipling character was Yellow Dog Dingo, the two phrases were … Read more >>

Solving time: 9 mins I got in a right tangle with this thanks to 3/18dn: with ???M?? AND ????? in place and ‘drunk’ the last word of the clue, the answer was clearly … Read more >>

Solving time: 15 mins, three mistakes (23ac, 8dn, 20dn) This wasn’t very easy and even after I’d (slightly fortuitously) spotted the mini-theme of Wellington, Napoleon and Waterloo it was tough to finish. I … Read more >>

Solving time: 16 mins, one mistake (HOBBEMA at 24ac) This crossword was themed on the song Rising Early in the Morning from The Gondoliers by Gilbert and Sullivan, which contains the following verse: … Read more >>

Solving time: 14 mins This may have been Bonxie’s first prize puzzle in the Guardian, in which case my congratulations to the setter. There were some nice ideas here but on close analysis … Read more >>

Solving time: 38 mins This very impressive construction may have had the most involved preamble I’ve seen in the Guardian. Essentially, half the clues led to two answers differing by either the first … Read more >>

Solving time: 9 mins The second appearance in a couple of weeks for Paul (the last as part of Biggles) and I really enjoyed it – there were loads of inventive clues in … Read more >>

Solving time: 12 mins The last 3 minutes of this, at least, were on 6dn (CHATELAINE) which I found much the hardest clue, although if I’d solved this a month ago it would … Read more >>

Solving time: 23 mins, one mistake (1dn) This tough puzzle was a mix of good and bad, with some really clever wordplay devices and elegant surfaces intermingled with clues for which the cryptic … Read more >>

Solving time: 8½ minutes A good puzzle from Paul which I made considerably more difficult for myself with a wrong answer at 1ac. There were several cross-referenced clues, including a couple of related … Read more >>

Solving time: 12 minutes If you didn’t solve this puzzle and are confused by the title of this blog, you have probably fallen into the same trap as me. I spent three minutes … Read more >>

Solving time: 10½ minutes. The two central answers this week combined to yield ‘British resort’ (’15 19′ in several clues), and there were several such hidden in the grid. Usually when there’s a … Read more >>

Solving time: 8½ mins This puzzle was themed on the nursery rhyme about little boys being made of frogs and snails and puppy-dogs’ tails and little girls of sugar and spice and all … Read more >>

Solving time: 8½ mins Excellent stuff from Paul with an impressive grid and virtually faultless clueing. 27ac (GENE POOL) was perhaps my favourite. Music of the day: sometimes I struggle to find something … Read more >>

Very short on time so a rapid blog this week – apologies for the brevity. Solving time not taken as I used a dictionary and also interspersed solving with blogging to get the … Read more >>