Guardian

A Monday and no Rufus! A good mixture of clues from Logodaedalus made this an enjoyable start to the week, and there were no naval references to throw us, which made a change. … Read more >>

Solving time: Don’t know (clock stopped while solving), but at least 15 mins by the time I concluded that I didn’t know the word at 13ac; 25ac and 15dn also wrong. I started … Read more >>

Well, aren’t I lucky, on a day when I might have expected not to be, to land one of my top favourite setters? This is a typically first-class puzzle from Crucible, with nothing … Read more >>

I always feel a little nervous when I see Brummie’s name on a puzzle, and indeed it took me a while to get going with it, but it was not too hard overall, … Read more >>

I’m not a huge fan of grids such as this where the long clues can somewhat spoil the fun if you get them early or lock you out of a corner if you … Read more >>

Today’s offering from Gordius is not too complicated if you know a lot of not-so-well-known names as Gordius name-dropped left, right and centre. Without access to Google, I do not think I would … Read more >>

A fun puzzle from Rufus, with lots of anagrams and cryptic definitions. Across 1. CACKLE Cryptic definition: to “cut the cackle” is to stop talking 4. MASTHEAD AM reversed + SAD = “unhappy” … Read more >>

Solving time: 12 mins Pasquale is one of the most Ximenean of The Guardian’s setters (i.e. his clues generally make good cryptic sense) which usually means a fast solve. This wasn’t the case … Read more >>

Pretty easy-going stuff from Chifonie here, with several rather obvious anagrams to get started with. It was enjoyable enough, though with nothing much to grab the attention, except I thought the surface reading … Read more >>

A themed puzzle from Brendan today with a good mix of enjoyable, though not too demanding, clues. The theme was indicated by the middle row (15 & 17ac) and all the other across … Read more >>

A fun puzzle with Paul’s trademark dodginess evident in a few clues. Annoyingly, I can’t quite see 24a…. Across 8. VUVUZELA (V V [tiresom]E A ZULU)*; I like “the blasted thing?” as the … Read more >>

Phew! What a tough puzzle with hard boiled eggs dressed with pepper sauce. Without Google and Wikipedia, I would not have completed this blog. Otherwise, an entertaining and fair challenge. ACROSS 1 SUBSOIL … Read more >>

A typically straightforward Rufus, with the usual generous sprinkling of double and cryptic definitions and anagrams, with some nice touches. Nothing too controversial, I think. Across 1 CROESUS: anagram of SOURCES: the wealthy … Read more >>

I know that rightback has been having Internet access problems recently so presumably this accounts for his absence. My apologies for not noticing the lack of a post earlier but I have been … Read more >>