FT

Prize puzzle from the Weekend FT of March 15 I remember FT puzzle number 10,000 and now here we are a third of the way through another batch of 10,000. Cincinnus marks the … Read more >>

I found this to be something of a mixture, some very easy and obvious clues and others where the wordplay was convoluted and difficult to parse. The result was that about 20% of the … Read more >>

I was just thinking that it had been a little while since we had seen Neo. Here he is with a fresh collection of clues.  I found these to be high on inventiveness … Read more >>

I had a great time with this puzzle. Not as hard as Viking usually is, but with lots of clever wordplay. Thank you Viking. Across 1 SELF-CLEANING (LENS IF GLANCE)* A nice &lit … Read more >>

A rather work-a-day puzzle, I fear. 1A provided an easy entry, and then gravity pretty much took care of the remainder.  11A raised a smile, but I was underwhelmed by 18D on a couple … Read more >>

Monday Prize Crossword on 8 March 2010 In the scheme of things I do on a Monday, I would tackle the puzzles in the following order : Times, Guardian, Financial Times and Sunday’s … Read more >>

Prize puzzle from the Weekend FT of March 6 Here we have two clues with, if I am understanding them correctly, cryptic containment indicators, 6D and 23D. Interesting. I like the latter one. … Read more >>

This was mostly straightforward, but there were some creative elements here, noted below.  Across 1 REPORT REP (salesman) OR T (“agent”‘s conclusion) 4 SCREWS UP CREW (ship’s company) in PUSS (cat) reversed 10 … Read more >>

Straightforward solve today with most answers entered on first pass through the clues. I had to look up a couple of wordplay components that involved people’s names, but this didn’t pose much difficulty. … Read more >>

I covered Alberich’s first FT puzzle eighteen months ago and my opening comment was “I don’t think I have ever completed an FT quite so quickly, the answers just seemed to enter themselves”. … Read more >>

Monday Prize Crossword from 1 March 2010 A not-too-difficult week-opening puzzle from Crux …  the Monday FT series is  eminently suitable for beginners to cryptic crosswords to cut their teeth on. On my … Read more >>

Prize puzzle from the Weekend FT of February 27 The nominees for best charade are 17A, 18A, 21A and 8D. And the winner is 8D! For best anagram or anagram-combination, the nominees are … Read more >>

A pretty challenging puzzle, with a rather curiously chosen mini-theme.  My own personal recommendation from the menu would be a No. 5, a No. 11 and a No. 25. Across 1 CAPITALLY – … Read more >>

I breezed through three-quarters of this puzzle in five or ten minutes, then got stuck for a while on the last four or five clues.  I am still not sure of 25 down. … Read more >>