Guardian 25,872 – Arachne

Well, you can’t go wrong with Arachne, as shown by her Quiptic on Monday this week, and now this cryptic. I got a few answers very quickly, and thought it was going to … Read more >>

Guardian 25,871 – Boatman

A Valentine’s crossword with a few well-worked mini-themes and lots of clever cluing – I particularly liked 13ac, 20ac/16dn, 25ac and 5dn/22dn. Groaned aloud at 19dn. Across 7 SAMOVAR =”Urn” [wiki] I think … Read more >>

Guardian Quiptic 691 Arachne

A straightforward enjoyable Quiptic from Arachne (who can turn up or down the difficulty level, as required).  Thank you to Arachne.  Definitions are underlined in the clues.   [[The pictures at the bottom have … Read more >>

Guardian 25.868 / Rufus

I found this a rather trickier Rufus than usual. There are some really nice clues, with the usual smooth-as-silk surfaces, my favourites being 12, 13 and 14ac and 15 and 18dn, along with … Read more >>

Guardian Prize 25,861 / Araucaria

Another beautifully cut and polished gem from Araucaria. On Monday, Hugh Stephenson’s Crossword Update gave a link to this photograph, taken last week by Steve Caplin, of Araucaria ‘playing’ with his Scrabble tiles. … Read more >>

Guardian Cryptic 25865 Orlando

An enjoyable offering from Orlando.  Not difficult, with 25across my last one in.  Thanks to Orlando.  Definitions are underlined in the clues.  [[The pictures at the bottom have unidentified links to the puzzle.  … Read more >>

Guardian 25,864 / Paul

Not a lot of joy here for me today, with a theme in which I have little interest – but I’m glad to say that I did not resort to Google, except to … Read more >>

Guardian 25,863 – Crucible

This is a very foxy puzzle with a mini-theme that I almost missed. The clues are varied and employ many devices to bemuse and amuse. Very entertaining. Across 1 DECOCT It takes months … Read more >>

Guardian no. 25862 by Rufus

Pretty typical Rufus I felt this morning, shed loads of double definitions which aren’t really my favourite clue type. Andrew is away, so I’m standing in, AMP and BROAD appear twice in the … Read more >>

Guardian Genius No 115 by Puck

The preamble read as follows: Ten solutions can also be 30, initially. Any secondary definition or wordplay in their clues leads to the solution as it might appear if it were, indeed, 30 of any 26 12 before 22 down 22 across. … Read more >>