FT

Whew. This was a severe test: what with the unhelpful grid, the four intractable twelve-letter solutions and a whole monstrous regiment of devilishly brilliant &lits, I was left tottering on the brink of … Read more >>

Monday Prize Crossword/Jan 14 A not too taxing, but very well written Dante crossword that one can find here. Some typical nautical references (25ac, 5d), one or two great anagrams (16ac, for example), … Read more >>

Prize puzzle from the Weekend FT of January 12, 2013 I found the top-right quadrant of this puzzle to be tricky, especially 4A (CROSSBAR) and 6D (SHRINK WRAP). My favourite clues are 20A … Read more >>

I don’t think I have blogged a puzzle by Gaff before, quite an experience. There is loads of stuff in here to go at.  I’m not sure if I have spotted it all, maybe … Read more >>

Though quick, solving this was quite enjoyable with some clever surfaces and devices.  Thank you to Crux.  Definitions are underlined in the clues.  [[The pictures at the bottom have unidentified links to the … Read more >>

Straightforward and enjoyable         Across 1 MORASS confused situation OR (men) in MASS (service) 4 EMISSARY government agent E (Spain) MISS (young lady) A R[ac]Y 10 SEPTEMBER 30 days (PEST)* … Read more >>

Goodness, I had a struggle with this. Loroso’s extensive vocabulary (or, perhaps, my limited vocabulary), a few misleading indicators (sandwiches, pockets) and a general brain-failure on my part combined to make this one … Read more >>

Monday Prize Crossword/Jan 7 A Crux puzzle which – rather unusual for this setter – had quite a few cross references. An overall enjoyable solve, but not one of Crux’s very best. Ah … Read more >>

Prize puzzle from the Weekend FT of January 5, 2012 I have come to like Bradman’s puzzles a lot but, when first faced with one, I still sometimes get a little nervous because … Read more >>

Quite tricky but with a couple of easy starters to get me going, thanks IO. I really messed this up, first by mistakenly writing the solution to 4dn in the grid at 10dn, … Read more >>

A very slightly harder Armonie today, but good.  Thanks Armonie.  I noted the number of repeated words in the clues: “beer”(1a/12a), “girl”(14a/21a), “speed”(11a/22a), “knight”(2d/4d), “number”(7d/8d), “nothing”(11a/28a), and wondered if it was deliberate?  If … Read more >>

Smooth work out to start the day         Across 1 CORRESPONDENCE dd 10 CLEAN (complete) hidden in [mira]CLE AN[tedote] 11 DISMANTLE (strip) DI (princess) (LAMENTS)* 12 CHANNEL dd 13 TEMPERA … Read more >>

I don’t think I’ve blogged a Gurney puzzle before (though I’ve come across him as Raich in the Indie). This turned out to be a speedy, enjoyable solve. At the very easiest end … Read more >>

Monday Prize Crossword/Dec 31 After the excitement of last week’s Carte Rosée, this FT puzzle (celebrating the end of the year 2012) was Dante as we all know him:  smooth and friendly.  And … Read more >>

Prize puzzle from the Weekend FT of December 29, 2012 I made a good start on this puzzle, completing most of the upper half, then took a long time to finish the rest. … Read more >>