Guardian

Solving time: 18 mins, one mistake (20dn) This Mona Lisa-themed puzzle might have been straightforward for any art scholars who knew the ten-word phrase at 24ac (anyone?), but I had to work it … Read more >>

Condoleeza Rice (15d.) once made the quote in the title. Not her finest hour. Struck me that Pasquale’s puzzle is uniting quite a few people this morning – hope you’re all finding it … Read more >>

A good number of long phrases, with quite a few cryptic definitions and some subtle wordplay. Explanations of 20 ac welcomed. ACROSS: 1. HARD TO GRASP. CD. 9. OB(VIA T)E. Complex wordplay here … Read more >>

Solving time – 26:40 I struggled to get going on this, and after 10 minutes only had half a dozen answers in, but gradually managed to work up from the bottom right-hand corner … Read more >>

Solving time:  28 minutes (with help from Chambers and TEA) Over the past few months I have really come to appreciate Gordius puzzles, plenty of wit, some topical stuff and a dash of … Read more >>

A surfeit of cryptic definitions today which isn’t of course out of character for Rufus. It’s tempered by several well crafted clues though so a smile or two were produced. Across 9 TALL … Read more >>

Solving time: 21:45, one missing (17ac) Across clues had wordplay leading to the defined answer minus a coin. The (normal) down clues weren’t too bad though so this wasn’t much more difficult than … Read more >>

I always feel more intelligent after solving a Brendan puzzle — I think it’s because he is fair, challenging and there’s a clever nina or theme which is always gratifying to identify. Anyway, … Read more >>

Apologies for lateness – wrote a whole entry this morning and lost it. Baaad IT bloke – didn’t save my work as I went along. In the end – really quite a straight … Read more >>

A pretty tough one this, took a good half hour and left me in doubt about the wordplay of two clues, including the main theme-word. But I think I’m there now. I thought … Read more >>

Solving time: 12 minutes.  Solving a Chifonie puzzle often seems to me like a labour of love.  Nice when you finish, but you don’t get the feeling of accomplishment that you do with … Read more >>

Solving time 10:07 Sorry for the lateness of the post, but I’ve been away from the computer all day and only just got round to solving it. Typical Rufus with lots of cryptic … Read more >>

I’m a bit short of time today so this will be a less detailed than usual entry. Apologies in advance etc… Across 1 LITTLE TOE – I put in LITTLE PIG at first, … Read more >>

As always an intellectual treat to solve a Paul puzzle — and as usual he pushes the Ximenean envelope — typically from the outside, but always gratifyingly — e.g. 17D. A couple of … Read more >>