A relatively rare, but welcome, appearance by Vlad in the prize slot this week.
Guardian
Guardian Cryptic 27,961 by Qaos
A quick solve for a Friday, with lots of nice and smooth cluing. Favourites were 10ac, 19ac, 29ac, 9dn, and 22dn.
Guardian 27,960 – Nutmeg
A delightful puzzle from Nutmeg; not difficult, but with elegant and witty clueing throughout, and some nicely concealed definitions. I was helped by spotting the Nina early on: around the perimeter we have … Read more >>
Guardian Cryptic 27,959 by Imogen
Imogen goes heavy on the general knowledge today.
Guardian Cryptic 27,958 by Arachne
The puzzle may be found at https://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/cryptic/27958.
Guardian 27,957 / Chifonie
A characteristic Monday medley from Chifonie, with really neat surfaces throughout – mostly straightforward, with one or two slight niggles, noted below. Thanks to Chifonie for easing us into the week. Definitions are … Read more >>
Guardian Quiptic 1,040/Carpathian
Carpathian has a tersely clued Quiptic for us, so the blog is similarly terse. Good puzzle. Abbreviations cd cryptic definition dd double definition cad clue as definition (xxxx)* anagram … Read more >>
Guardian Prize 27,950 by Paul
A cracking puzzle, I enjoyed this a lot. Thank you Paul. ACROSS 1, 5, 10, 13 A RIDDLE WRAPPED UP IN AN ENIGMA An arc, as if tan — um? This is very … Read more >>
Guardian 27,955 / Puck
It’s always good to see Puck’s name on a puzzle but, having missed the Irish racecourses in his last one, I was perhaps a bit more nervous than usual in setting out on … Read more >>
Guardian Cryptic 27,954 by Paul
A tricky, slow solve, with a lot of parsing done after the grid was filled – and some parsing only after the rest of the blog was finished. Favourites were 11ac for the surface, 23ac, 26/9, 5dn, and 18dn. Thanks to Paul for the challenge.
Guardian 27,953 – Philistine
A very enjoyable puzzle from Philistine today. I found it quite a quick solve, helped by gentle clueing for the four long answers around the outside of the grid. Thanks to Philistine. … Read more >>
Guardian Cryptic 27,952 by Tramp
Tough, but ultimately satisfying.
Guardian Quiptic 1039 Hectence
Thanks to Hectence for a puzzle befitting the Quiptic tag. Definitions are underlined in the clues. Across 1 Difficult time after baby’s head is delivered (7) BROUGHT : [ROUGH(difficult/unpleasant, as in “I had … Read more >>
Guardian Cryptic 27,951 by Vulcan
The puzzle may be found at https://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/cryptic/27951.
Guardian Prize 27,944 / Boatman
I suspect I’m not the only one to have wondered why puzzle 27,943, published on Friday, October 4th, themed on a race to be run on Sunday 6th, was not scheduled for Saturday … Read more >>