Guardian

Solving time – around half an hour in small doses. I was very busy at work today and didn’t even have time for a lunch break, so I solved this in a few … Read more >>

A good puzzle with consistently high quality defs and wordplay (the latter providing clear direction to answers in some cases even when the def was unknown to me). Incidentally had I not known … Read more >>

Solving time: 4:27 Another cracking construction from Brendan, with the rotationally symmetric across clues forming pairs where the first is of the form AB and the second BA, e.g. SIDE ROAD/ROADSIDE and SAUNAS/NASSAU. … Read more >>

Solving time: 24 minutes I sometimes imagine Paul, in his spare time, at the end of Southend Pier, playing his banjo and telling rude jokes to the assembled punters in a straw boater … Read more >>

The usual mix from Rufus today – some excellent, some not quite so good. Solving time – a little under 8 minutes ACROSS 1 MA(CAB)RE 5 STOKER – shame the setter didn’t find a way … Read more >>

Solving time: 15:23 Not for the first time, a puzzle based on the works of Lewis Carroll, specifically Through the Looking-Glass (TTLG) and its chess ‘match’ between the White and Red pieces. About … Read more >>

Solving time 20:19 Araucaria’s certainly on form today. A great 28-letter anagram at 1A,8D and a lot of other very clever clues made this a real pleasure to solve. I don’t think there … Read more >>

(Hope PaulB isn’t reading this since I’m late again). Another fine Paul opus – some surprising and refreshing wordplay (e.g. 7D, 1A) and sly definitions (e.g. 25A). I did this early morning but … Read more >>

I enjoyed this puzzle very much, with a good mix of clues, and a couple of answers that used words that were new to me. I thought that I had posted this at … Read more >>

Solving time: 13:42 It felt as though I made fairly heavy weather of this; the long answers took longer than they should have, especially 11dn, and answers like MARSH GAS for ‘methane’ should … Read more >>

A decent Friday puzzle with some tough nuts to crack. One name I’d never come across before, and required Google’s help, some humorous touches, and a little linked mini-theme including two phrases, one … Read more >>

A typical fun crossword from Paul – an enjoyable challenge as he doesn’t allow the rules to get in the way of a good clue. Time taken – 14mins, approximately ACROSS 1 see 19dn … Read more >>

Solving time approx 30 minutes. I didn’t see any answers on my first glance through the clues, but managed to work out the anagram at 27ac and worked upwards steadily from there. As … Read more >>

Another out of character Araucarian opus – not cross-refs, not long anagrams and actually quite a pleasant puzzle with reasonable surfaces. Across 1 FR(EE)BIE – [w]EE[k] in brief* 5 CAT’S-PAW – had to … Read more >>