Guardian

My chronic lack of geographical knowledge slowed me down quite a bit in this puzzle with lots of varied and often rather clever uses of “capital”, both in definitions and wordplay. On reflection, … Read more >>

Common abbreviations used dd = double definition cd = cryptic definition ha = hidden answer rev = reversed or reversal cha = charade ins = insertion After my baptism of fire with The … Read more >>

Pretty straightforward Paul today, but full of fun. ACROSS 1 s(kim)py 4 pi-l-char-d 9 tackle : typical Paulish schoolboy humour – made my day 10 pa(m ay)res : author of “I wished I’d … Read more >>

Somewhat patchy Rufus — some doubtful cryptic definitions but elsewhere some clever misdirections. I’m writing this up through the fog of a migraine so no promises as to quality. In retrospect, I wonder … Read more >>

Solving time: 45 mins This was the hardest Guardian prize puzzle for ages and I thought for a while that I was going to fail it completely, with less than half of the … Read more >>

The only HELMSLEY I know is the very wealthy NYC socialite Leona who I think recently died and was not well-loved in America. Well, I didn’t actually know her. Across 1 S,CO,USER – … Read more >>

Wow! What a plum assignment for me today when I blog Rev John Graham, OBE, whom I have admired from afar for years. Solving is one thing but explaining all the wordplay and … Read more >>

This caused me some trouble with two clues solved but unexplained. Across 9 NORWEGIAN: anagram of WEARING NO 10 ANNIE: hidden in bemoAN NIEtzsche 11 CAPTAIN: A P (a page) in anagram of … Read more >>

This is my last regular blog of daily puzzle here at Fifteensquared. I have enjoyed the last 18 months very much and it was great to be in on things at the beginning … Read more >>

My usual convention * = anagram “” = homophone cd = cryptic definition dd = double definition ha = hidden answer rha = reversed hidden answer Contrary to expectation, Rufus managed to stump … Read more >>

Solving time: 6:55 Easier than usual for this setter, I thought, but perhaps harder if you hadn’t heard of the book referenced at 1dn, which connected most of the other long phrases. * … Read more >>

  I did this in Oxford Services at 7 a.m after driving 2 hours from Manchester on my way to London and am blogging when I really should be working – so this … Read more >>

NEW AGE TRAVELLER required some wiki-trawling — other than that, I find this puzzle to be a reasonable thing to do while listening to a talk about bid optimizations in internet advertising (which … Read more >>

Across 1 HOARSE: A in HORSE 4 PASTIME: PA’S TIME 9 DEDICATED: DE (half dead) + CAT in DIED 10 IMPEL: MP in IE (that is) + L 11 OLDIE: (s)OLDIE(r) 12 ISINGLASS: … Read more >>

Was, unusually for me, on the right wavelength for Araucaria today, and sped through most of the puzzle, which was as enjoyable as always. There was a nice mini theme of a few … Read more >>