Guardian

Ran into several problems here with unfamiliar definitions requiring a bit of research, 10A still available… Also feels like a theme here but I can’t quite put my finger on it: e.g. several … Read more >>

Across 7 FLAWLESS: F + LAWLESS 9 E-BOATS: anagram of TO BASE 10 STYE: STYLE less L (Roman numeral) 11 KICKED BACK: The back who was kicked, retaliated 12 CARAFE: A RAF in … Read more >>

Another brilliant offering from the maestro; I particularly enjoyed the references to the two very different books which feature in this puzzle.  Solving time: about an hour and a half, except for 22 … Read more >>

Computer failure – will try to post by tonight but if anyone wants to step in with a blog of their own please do.

Today it was the bottom right-hand corner that gave me the most trouble, but apart from that I found this one mostly quite easy. A couple of explanations I’m not totally happy with … Read more >>

Mostly fairly straightforward, with a lot of anagrams, but the top left-hand corner had me stumped for a while. I particularly liked 2dn for its brilliant misdirection.             … Read more >>

I guess when you’ve been setting for a while, you can either spice things up for self and solvers with esoteric themes, or you can cast ever wider into the available word-pool. Paul’s … Read more >>

Pretty good offering from Rufus: quite a few clues with a surprising twist in the surface. And not a cryptic definition in sight (OK, not many). Across 1 LUCIFER – two meanings: a … Read more >>

Solving time: 15:55 Don’t take too much notice of my time – I was at least three-quarters asleep when solving this. Reasonably straightforward for Paul, I think. I’m going to be unable to … Read more >>

Some tough stuff here that had me using Chambers (not something I like to do on a Friday morning getting ready for work but I tend to have a bit more time). Bit … Read more >>

Apologies for a rather brief blog today. Across 1 DEVILS ADVOCATE: DEVIATE around anagram of CALVADOS (without an ‘A’) 9 UKRAINIAN: UK RAIN + IAN 10 PROMO: PRO + MO 13 DIASTOLE: AID … Read more >>

Common abbreviations used dd = double definition cd = cryptic definition rev = reversed or reversal ins = insertion cha = charade * = anagram Lovely puzzle that has some misleading definitions and … Read more >>

Common abbreviations used dd = double definition cd = cryptic definition rev = reversed or reversal ins = insertion cha = charade * = anagram A delightful puzzle both entertaining and challenging Across … Read more >>

A typically pleasant Monday puzzle from Rufus with at least two classy clues (15d and 24a). I still don’t understand why we must always get an easy puzzle on Monday. There’s always the simpler crossword in … Read more >>

I hadn’t planned to blog this puzzle, but if nobody else wants to, here’s my contribution. The theme involves eight elements from the perodic table, and in each case the clue starts with … Read more >>