Guardian

A fun puzzle from Rufus to start the week; there were lots of good “a-ha!” moments for me in this one and excellent surface readings throughout, my favourites being 8d and 28a, I … Read more >>

Solving time: 8:30 The usual excellent stuff from Paul. There was some discussion in last week’s blog about rule-bending and so forth, with Paul being mentioned, but the difference between Paul and Araucaria … Read more >>

As ever, a very enjoyable crossword from Paul, with lots of animals (mostly pigs and cows), a few communists and a couple of computer references. Across 8 LANDRACE: LAND (as in fishing) + … Read more >>

Easier than usual from Chifonie. Across 8 ORNAMENT OR NAME NT (New Testament) 9 EBONY E BONY 11 LIBERATION LIBATION around ER 12 ASHRAM A SH RAM – a Hindu hermitage 14 LORRAINE … Read more >>

As is often with Araucaria, something of a challenge but satisfying to solve.  I guessed the long linked clue starting at 7D fairly early from the pattern of ‘inherit’ which gave a lot … Read more >>

It’s my first day back in the office after a week-and-a-bit’s holiday, so a large backlog of emails has somewhat delayed my blogging. A lot of obscure words and references, combined with some … Read more >>

dd = double definition cd = cryptic definition rev = reversed or reversal ins = insertion cha = charade ha = hidden answer *(fodder) = anagram As usual, Rufus showed his forte, the … Read more >>

Solving time: 75 mins, four wrong before using a dictionary (43ac, Q, X and Y). I always seem to enjoy Araucaria’s Bank Holiday specials and this was no exception, so Araucaria fans will … Read more >>

dd = double definition cd = cryptic definition rev = reversed or reversal ins = insertion cha = charade ha = hidden answer *(fodder) = anagram For once, I did not enjoy a … Read more >>

Another great crossword from The Don. I find he pitches them just right for daily cryptics – this wasn’t really tough but did require switching on the rusty old brain cells for some … Read more >>

Across 1 IGNITION KEY: & Lit 9 OCTOBER: O + (TO BE in CR) 10 ERASURE: ERA + anagram of USER 11 WHIRLWIND: HIRL (sounds like ‘hurl’) in W-WIND 12 SISAL: anagram of … Read more >>

A bit later than normal today sorry, I had noticed I was meant to be solving on Tuesday but had internalised this as ‘the second day of the week’, which the Bank Holiday … Read more >>

Solving time: Forgot to write down, but about 8 minutes I think This is my first blog for a few weeks, so thank you very much to bridgesong and Uncle Yap who have … Read more >>

A straightforward Rufus for Bank Holiday Monday. A couple of nice cryptic definitions, and a couple more I’m not so keen on. Key: dd = double definition cd = cryptic definition * = … Read more >>