Guardian

Solving time: 9 mins I got in a right tangle with this thanks to 3/18dn: with ???M?? AND ????? in place and ‘drunk’ the last word of the clue, the answer was clearly … Read more >>

Enjoyable as ever from Brendan with a nice theme around a recent anniversary [spoiler]. Solved pretty quickly after the theme fell, then had to stare at 10a for a good while before the … Read more >>

An excellent puzzle from Crucible. (I’ve been lucky with two Crucibles in four weeks :)) There’s a mini theme in 3d, 7d, 20d and 21d, but if there’s more to it, I’ve missed that. … Read more >>

‘The best laid schemes … ‘ My plan was to stay up and solve this puzzle when it was published and provide an early blog, for once. Alas, I fell asleep at about … Read more >>

Uncle Yap commented yesterday that he is currently in Sri Lanka and may not have access to an internet terminal, so a substitute blogger takes the Guardian spot today.  We have still got snow on … Read more >>

Another straightforward Rufus, with a large helping of double definitions. A couple of clues (21ac and 23dn) have a word in the clue forming a major part of the answer, which can actually … Read more >>

Solving time: 15 mins, three mistakes (23ac, 8dn, 20dn) This wasn’t very easy and even after I’d (slightly fortuitously) spotted the mini-theme of Wellington, Napoleon and Waterloo it was tough to finish. I … Read more >>

I had somewhat mixed feelings about this puzzle – the surface readings are very nice and there are plenty of inventive and entertaining constructions. However, there are some rather tricky subtractive elements, in … Read more >>

I think this puzzle might not be everyone’s cup of tea but I enjoyed it, once I got started. 3dn was the first themed answer I got, before solving 25,22, so I went … Read more >>

I generally find Orlando’s puzzles quite easy going, but I struggled more than usual with this one. I finished the bottom half quite quickly, then the NE corner rather less so, with the … Read more >>

What a fantastic feeling to wake up, switch off the air-conditioner, have a cold shower and start the day with a nice cup of coffee and then hit the crosswords. Well, I am … Read more >>

Rufus’ usual gentle start to the week, with a couple of quibbles. ACROSS 1 MISHAPS Anagram (‘anyway’) of ‘pass him’. 5 ACCEDES Charade of AC (‘bill’) + CEDES (gives way’). 10 CHIT Double … Read more >>