A brilliant and superb puzzle from Wanderer today. I really enjoyed solving this every minute of the way, and while there are still a couple of clues that I need help parsing with, doesnt take anything away from the really nice afterglow of a good solve. Thanks Wanderer for an absolute treat today. There is a mini-theme around Russia / Russians but a quick googling didnt turn up anything significant related to today’s date – anybody with any ideas here?
FT
Financial Times 14,918 by PETO
A good, fair puzzle. Thanks, Peto (love the name, by the way).
Financial Times 14,909 – Dante
Monday Prize Crossword / Apr 20, 2015
I did this puzzle the Day After (… the Cambridge S&B). Either it was that or the fact that I solved only Independent crosswords the week before, but I thought this was perhaps as hard as Dante / Rufus can get. An unusual grid too – no less than eight words with 10+ letters.
Financial Times 14,908 by Dogberry
Prize puzzle from the Weekend FT of April 18, 2015 What a fine puzzle! I enjoyed this playful crossword very much. Many thanks to Dogberry. My clue of the week is 1d (MEA … Read more >>
Financial Times 14,917 by HAMILTON
There is one clue that I cannot fathom. Any help appreciated. Thanks Hamilton.
Financial Times 14,916 by JASON
A straightforward puzzle from Jason meant a quick pleasurable solve. Got started with the anagrams and made quick progress from there. I do wonder if its ok to spell 20d as has been used in this grid. All in all, a fine treat – Thanks Jason.
Financial Times 14,913 by ALBERICH
My eyes lit up with glee when I saw who my setter was today. By the time I got through the crossword, the smile was wiped clean off. Amidst the battering and bruising, I still managed to enjoy several clues. Outclassed by Alberich today. A typical tale of an extraordinary setter meeting an ordinary solver. 🙂 Thanks to Gaufrid for the assistance where needed.
Financial Times 14,912 by ORENSE
We are not sure about this one. Pretty much a write-in, from top to bottom, and the actual answers were unambiguous. However there was one clue where the answer is absolutely unambiguous but incapable (as far as we are concerned at least) of being parsed precisely, and a couple of other niggles. It could well be that we are missing something. And there was one really neat clue. Overall, good fun and a pleasant start to the day. Thanks, Orense.
Financial Times 14,903 – Falcon
Monday Prize Crossword / Apr 13, 2015
An enjoyable exercise by Falcon, mostly rather easy although the SE needed some extra thinking. Falcon’s crosswords nearly always contain one or two cultural references (esp. novels and films), today he went for music.
Financial Times 14,902 by Gaff
Prize puzzle from the Weekend FT of April 12, 2015 Gaff is new to me and new to this space but known elsewhere, especially for themed puzzles. This puzzle took me some time. … Read more >>
Financial Times 14,911 by AARDVARK
Good stuff from Aardvark. Everything is there but well enough hidden to make it an enjoyable challenge. Thanks Aardvark.
Financial Times 14,910 by GURNEY
An easy stroll this Tuesday from Gurney. Plenty of anagrams all over the place meant a quick solve despite which the experience was quite pleasant and appealing. Apologies for the late post as I had (and am having) a long day at work. I hope readers here have more discerning comments than I do, given my paucity of time.
Financial Times 14,907 by MUDD
Traveling on work and a full day meant I got to this Mudd challenge a lot later than I would have liked to – so apologies for the late post. I found this to be a tough challenge to begin with but gradually picked up steam along the way. Outclassed on a few clues that required googling to confirm or supplement the parsings. Some deviousness exhibited by Mudd – enough to leave me seeking a helping hand on the deconstruction for a couple as well.
Financial Times 14,906 by SLEUTH
An enjoyable crossword, so first, thanks to Sleuth. We had almost finished doing the blog when there was a power cut and we feared we’d have to re-enter the lot. We should have known better. Our thanks to PeeDee for yet another great feature of the utility.
Financial Times 14,897 – Dante
Monday Prize Crossword / Apr 6, 2015
Just as I thought the FT doesn’t see daylight on Easter Monday, there was a Monday Prize Crossword which only appeared at the very end of the day on the newspaper’s website. I don’t like stereotyping but this Dante puzzle was indeed full of cryptic and double definitions – no less than 8 of the latter!