FT

Probably an easy ride for someone who’s well up on alcoholic drinks. Given my modest knowledge of the subject, I had a bit of a struggle with some of the answers but the … Read more >>

I’m rather pleased that smiffy asked me to swap days with him this week due to his Thanksgiving celebrations as I ended up with this most enjoyable puzzle from Mudd. Probably towards the … Read more >>

Monday Prize Crossword on 15 November 2010 Another easy start to the week ACROSS 1 ATMOSPHERIC *(compare this) 7 HOG dd 9 TITAN Cha of TIT (bird) AN (middle letters of brANch) 10 … Read more >>

Prize puzzle from the Weekend FT of November 13 Let’s start with wild applause for the brilliant &lit. 20A (IDES). Then another ovation for, collectively, 28A (REPHRASED), 2D (SPIRITUAL), 7D (GRILL) and 18D … Read more >>

We are informed that “This is Viking’s final crossword”, and it’s a swan song that’s reassuringly familiar in style and humour to the other aspects of his generous legacy.  Several of the best … Read more >>

I have just heard that Agentzero is down with the dreaded lurgy so I will post an analysis of the clues just as soon as I can type one up. Edit: Analysis now … Read more >>

Many roundabout definitions today to add zest to our solving, such as  ‘where Spanish sailor lands’, ‘least likely to be a beggar’. Also a bigger than usual helping of homophone clues (e.g. 20d, … Read more >>

I think this could well be Hamilton’s first foray into the “supersized-anagram-plus-friends” type of theme.  Fortunately the down clues are quite generous, and provided plenty of early checking letters for the main thematic … Read more >>

Monday Prize Crossword on 8 November 2010 Once again, it is back to good old Dante with his slick and smooth clues which entertain without over-taxing one’s grey cells. ACROSS 1 ARCHIVES Ins … Read more >>

Prize puzzle from the Weekend FT of November 6 Now here is what I call a good Mudd, a puzzle that I can easily imagine took a lot of thought. It was somewhat … Read more >>

It’s Wednesday so there is a good chance that we will see Cinephile, this time with one of his ‘XX has the same meaning throughout’ puzzles. A pleasant stroll on a very wet … Read more >>

No shortage of cleverness here!  Some of these clues needed a second (or third) look before I could be sure I had parsed them correctly.  My clear favourite is 17 down: natural surface, … Read more >>

Alberich challenges and entertains, and altogether gives us a very satisfying puzzle. A trademark of this setter is the seamless joint between definition and wordplay, and you can relish many examples of it … Read more >>

A few too many double definitions and homophones for my taste today.  Nothing particularly bad, but such a surfeit runs the risk of diluting the overall experience. So, to borrow a much-favoured and … Read more >>

Monday Prize Crossword on 1 November 2010 Thank you, Mr Colin Inman for rotating the setters. After a couple of years of Dante and Crux, Cincinnus (aka Orlando in The Guardian) is a … Read more >>