FT

Unusual, but pleasant, to see a theme in a Tuesday FT. For a moment I was afraid that a few clues would leave me in limbo, but I did a jig when the … Read more >>

A simple crossword, no obscure words or circuitous wordplay. Newbies might want to cut their solving teeth with this. For old hands, it might seem a little uninspired. Across 1 ADMINISTERED MINISTER (vicar) … Read more >>

Having not looked at a crossword for over a week, and with a healthy dollop of jet-lag still floating in my brain, I was hoping for a relatively light workout.  While this was … Read more >>

Monday Prize Crossword on 3 May 2010 Once again, the prolific Dante entertained and teased us with his brand of smooth surfaces and slick construction. ACROSS 1 SICKLE cd Standard is used as … Read more >>

Prize puzzle from the Weekend FT of May 1 Much of this puzzle is fairly pedestrian but I would single out 27A and 4D as especially good clues. Across 1. OUTWEIGH – reversed … Read more >>

A fairly typical Cinephile though overall perhaps slightly easier than some (at least for me). Nothing particularly held me up (studying chemistry at school helped with 19ac) but 26,27,23,24 was the last to … Read more >>

Some clever ideas from this setter, but also several clues that I had issues with (or, perhaps, that I misunderstood). Across 1 GOOD-FOR-NOTHING GOOD (honesty) FOR NOTHING (to no avail).  How is “honesty” a definition … Read more >>

Falcon is ideal for days when you want a smooth ride with the crossword without it getting dull. A pleasant puzzle with especially nice clue surfaces, and not much to hold one up … Read more >>

This is now two tricky ones in a row. Whereas yesterday’s puzzle was hard(ish) but fair, today’s was made more difficult by some decidedly dodgy clues. I may appear to be a little … Read more >>

Monday Prize Crossword on 26 April 2010 A gentle week opener with many different devices and mostly with lovely surface reading. Easy but enjoyable. ACROSS 1 STUBBORN Cha of STUB (dog-end, small piece … Read more >>

Prize puzzle from the Weekend FT of April 24 Here we have a few rather standard clues (6A, 25A) along with a few gems (10A, 11A and 21D). As usual, I found it … Read more >>

Some rather tricky wordplay from Aardvark today with quite a few answers being formed from a combination of an anagram and/or parts of words. On the first run through the clues I thought … Read more >>

A good puzzle from Armonie.  As alwyas, the clues are concise and generally have smooth, natural surface readings.  I wasn’t excited about any of the two-word anagrams but I particularly enjoyed 3, 10 and … Read more >>

This crossword of average difficulty from the master is a pleasant solve.  Many feel-good words in the clues: best, great, famous, prime, superb, chief, right, fresh, true, leading, successful, generous.  Across   1 COBBLER  – A … Read more >>

Plenty of gentle clues, including a slew of hidden answers and double definitions.  But there are also some admirable clue surfaces (I ticked 10A, 18A and 15D), plus the potentially mundane answer at 11D … Read more >>