FT

Prize puzzle from the Weekend FT of October 17 My favourite of these clues is 9A. Then there are a few that I do not completely understand (3D, 4D, 15D) and one, 4D, … Read more >>

A very enjoyable puzzle from Cinephile today, made easier by the horse racing theme which was fairly simple to determine from the first reference in 9a but as I was doing the clues … Read more >>

I’ve mixed views about this one. For example I liked the anagram indicators ‘snarled’ in 12a and ‘reprise’ in 20d but was unhappy with 22a and 23d as indicated below. I was also … Read more >>

Many witty clues with nice surfaces today. I found this pleasant and not too tough. Favourites: APPENDIX, ACACIA. Across 1 CUT A DASH CUT (canal, as a verb in the wordplay) + D … Read more >>

Much like yesterday, a mish-mash of the hackneyed and the hand-crafted. There seemed to be a plethora of “remove a letter” devices today (e.g. 15A, 24A, 28A, 3D, 22D, 25D). Across 1 OVERWROUGHT … Read more >>

Monday Prize Crossword on 12 October 2009 dd = double definition cd = cryptic definition rev = reversed or reversal ins = insertion cha = charade ha = hidden answer *(fodder) = anagram … Read more >>

Prize puzzle from the Weekend FT of October 10 Cincinnus keeps coming with great clues; witness 1A, 9A, 13A, 2D and 6D. But there is one clue, 11D, whose wordplay I do not … Read more >>

This was one for those who don’t like cryptic definitions (there weren’t any) or double definitions (only one). Some very good surfaces and misdirection but I had a feeling of déjà vu with … Read more >>

As usual with this setter, some nice cryptic definitions.  14dn fooled me for a while, but of course is obvious in retrospect.  It felt to me that this puzzle had a few too … Read more >>

Solid, satisfying challenge from Alberich as always. Clarifications needed for 18A, 29A. // Updated with clarifications. Thanks to Gaufrid. Across 9 GUATEMALA (MET AUG)< A LA (city) 10 ABUSE AE (Scots word for … Read more >>

Across 1 TARIFF – RA(<) in tiff. 4 AT RANDOM – Rand in atom.  Thank god for an accurate definition “indiscriminately”. My current peeve of the month is people wh;ve started using the … Read more >>

Monday Prize Crossword on 5 October 2009 dd = double definition cd = cryptic definition rev = reversed or reversal ins = insertion cha = charade ha = hidden answer *(fodder) = anagram … Read more >>

Prize puzzle from the Weekend FT of October 3 I don’t recall any compiler using clues for split-word answers (such as 11 and 9 across) as much as Cinephile. He has 4 in … Read more >>

On the first pass through I thought this was going to be very tricky as I only had a few entries, mainly in the SW corner. However, completing this corner helped to open … Read more >>

An interesting variety of clues today, and some unusual words. Across 1 SHISH KEBAB *(KISS BABE H H) H H is “H[ard] twice” 7 SACK dd 9 FREE d&cd 10 BUDGERIGAR BUDGE (shift) … Read more >>