Guardian

Solving time: 6:50, with a self-induced hold-up on 13ac (ICKY) at the end. How difficult you found this probably depended on how quickly you spotted one of the long multi-word phrases; the central … Read more >>

After Araucaria’s Miltonic epic and Paul’s Queen/Chess combo this week it was almost a relief to return to milder waters today with Chifonie. I found this mostly very easy, with just a couple … Read more >>

A very enjoyable puzzle today, with two interlinking themes that I would say are reasonably unobscure. c.d. = cryptic definition d.d. = double definition < = reversed * = anagram “” = homophone … Read more >>

Good clues with some excellent surface readings; there are a couple I’m not quite convinced by, but maybe people can clarify them. Across 9. ABSORBENT ABS = “Sailors” + OR = “soldiers” + … Read more >>

dd = double definition cd = cryptic definition rev = reversed or reversal ins = insertion cha = charade ha = hidden answer *(fodder) = anagram John Milton (9 December, 1608 – 8 … Read more >>

Another pleasant start to the week from Rufus, with his usual sprinkling of cryptic definitions, but nothing too demanding and not much to comment on. [I find, to my great embarrassment, that my … Read more >>

Solving time: 11:36 (one mistake, 23dn) I really enjoyed solving this puzzle, despite a few quibbles. There’s no major theme that I can see but there is a lot of linkage going on … Read more >>

The usual entertainment value from this Brendan puzzle, with its elegant surfaces, clever anagrams and cunningly hidden answers. It included four reiterative phrases neatly placed around the perimeter, plus another one at 13ac, … Read more >>

I’d been thinking we hadn’t seen much of Araucaria lately, especially during the week, so it was a pleasure to find this one on a cold and miserable December morning. A mixture of … Read more >>

I almost forgot I had to do this today, subsequently I had to solve it over lunch which added a bit more pressure than normal!  I consequently can’t be too objective about its … Read more >>

dd = double definition cd = cryptic definition rev = reversed or reversal ins = insertion cha = charade ha = hidden answer *(fodder) = anagram Another superb day! True to his reputation … Read more >>

A fun puzzle for a Monday morning – my particular favourite was 14d. Across 5. SCARAB A R in SCAB 6. CHERRY HER in CRY 9. SHIFTS Double definition 10. ORNAMENT (A M … Read more >>

Solving time: 20:43, two mistakes (23ac and 5dn) I found this fairly difficult but enjoyable. A number of the answers, including the two I guessed incorrectly (EPISEMON and ERYSIPELAS), had ambiguous wordplays, which … Read more >>

I normally find Chifonie very difficult, so I was pleased to get through about half today’s puzzle very fast – the rest of the clues (mostly in the bottom half) took quite a … Read more >>