Guardian

Well, for me, the week’s ending, as it began, on a high note, with a welcome appearance by Enigmatist. There were some lovely clues, as we would expect, but one or two that … Read more >>

As regular readers will know, I (and others) am not a big fan of Gordius, and while there’s nothing particularly inspiring in this puzzle, I didn’t find much to object to either, apart … Read more >>

Got through this one fairly quickly. Noticed on writing it up that the charade pieces for 11ac were all recycled from other clues… Across 1 IN ATTENDANCE =”here”. (ain’t)* + TEN=”five couples” + … Read more >>

A fair-to-middling kind of offering from Paul with some challenging clues as well as some that raised a smile or two especially those cheeky descriptions such as item containing white in 20D. My … Read more >>

A very quick post today, so please accept my apologies for any errors or omissions. It probably goes without saying, given the setter, but this is great stuff – lovely surface readings, fair … Read more >>

Solving time: 10 mins Not too difficult this week but there were several dubious clues in this (e.g. 11ac, 20ac, 1dn, 3dn, 16dn); not Araucaria’s finest, I thought. Music of the day (5dn): … Read more >>

A mostly very enjoyable puzzle, with a nicely done theme. Across 1. CALIFORNIUM Two subsidiary indicators here: (a) A Latinist might say Californium is the singular of California (“state”) (b) CALIF = “leader … Read more >>

Very enjoyable puzzle with a cleverly clued theme. Very Paul, very good. Across 8 CINERAMA: anagram of AMERICAN 9 ANODES: O (nothing) in ANDES (range) 11 LINSEED OIL: anagram of DEONISE in LL … Read more >>

There was nothing too difficult in this puzzle from Auster, though I caused myself a little trouble by guessing wrong at 4d (plausibly, I think). Altogether very enjoyable, with a gentle wit showing … Read more >>

A most enjoyable puzzle very cleverly and creatively crafted after a fashion. I like the way Boatman managed to use the themed phrase in so many different ways and as various devices. Good … Read more >>

There’s vintage Rufus here – some beautifully smooth surfaces and clever anagrams – with some easy charades thrown in for good measure. Across 1 SLAUGHTER: S[hake] + LAUGHTER 6  EMMA: the familiar crossword … Read more >>

Solving time: 10 mins This was vintage Paul: some amazing anagrams (8ac/7ac, 15ac/22dn, 22ac/23ac), a couple of long reverse charades (13dn, 24dn/3dn) and a classic at 16dn. Music of the Day (16dn): Set … Read more >>

Found this quite tough to get into but got there in the end… some very clever cluing, I thought. Nice theme of eating and drinking, with some kind of nod towards it in … Read more >>

A typically enjoyable Chifonie, I think – some tricky clues sprinkled among the easier ones [Links to the puzzle as HTML, PDF and Java Applet] Across 7. MISSPENT MISS = “girl” + PENT … Read more >>

An enjoyable and not-too-taxing puzzle from Orlando, with a fair number of straightforward charade clues. There are one or two indicators which some may not like! Across 9   IMPROVISE: IS in IMPROVE [revamp] … Read more >>