Guardian

It seems another blogger has been prevented from posting for one reason or another so I’m afraid you will have to put up with me again. A lot of excellent clues today and … Read more >>

Quantum’s posthumous puzzles continue to appear, more than a year after his death. I found this one mostly pretty easy going, though I was slightly held up at the end with the two … Read more >>

 I do enjoy Araucaria’s libertarianism and today was no exception. A mini theme revolving around ‘the House’ which, according to Chambers, can be “at Oxford, Christ Church (Aedes Christi), in London, the Stock … Read more >>

dd = double definition cd = cryptic definition rev = reversed or reversal ins = insertion cha = charade ha = hidden answer *(fodder) = anagram I found Puck such a delight to … Read more >>

A very rushed post today – apologies in advance for any errors! My favourite here was 13 across for its deceptive crosswordese and nice surface reading. Across 5. PERIOD PE = “Exercises” followed … Read more >>

Solving time: 16 mins A rare appearance for Biggles, and possibly a first in the lifetime of this blog. I believe this pseudonym is a conglomeration of the four setters that feature in … Read more >>

I’m not sure what to make of this one – mostly quite straightforward and with some nice clues, but a few quibbles too. There are several places where a word in the clue … Read more >>

Trying to blog this in record speed this morning as I am on borrowed internet usage and won’t get back to a computer until much later in day. Three clues solved but not … Read more >>

This strong week in the Guardian continues with this enjoyable, but quite tough, puzzle from Shed. (I only finished this with the help of my partner, having trouble with 10a, 11a, 10d and … Read more >>

dd = double definition cd = cryptic definition rev = reversed or reversal ins = insertion cha = charade ha = hidden answer *(fodder) = anagram What a lovely and entertaining puzzle full … Read more >>

A very fun crossword today, themed around today’s 60th anniversary of the publication of 1984.  I particularly like how the puzzle takes in the book, Orwell himself, and the actual year. Across 5. … Read more >>

Solving time: 13:43 This puzzle was themed around bandleaders, of which an impressive 11 appear in the grid, plus BANDLEADER itself at 21/19dn. The wordplay to the thematic entries (asterisked below) must have … Read more >>

  An enjoyable puzzle from Orlando, who’s always good value, I think. There are some very cleverly constructed clues and several to raise a smile. Across 1   REGAL: REG and AL, two male … Read more >>

There’s a mini-theme of golf and golf clubs in this one; I found this quite tough, but on writing the post I’m not entirely sure why, apart from the usual Araucaria liberties… Across … Read more >>

* = anagram < = reversed “” = homophone d.d. = double definition c.d. = cryptic definition Across 8. AL JOLSON. JLOALSO* + N 9. TINGE. GET* around IN. 11. OXFORD CLAY. OX … Read more >>