The usual thing: every clue has a silky-smooth surface that never compromises the parsing. I thought this was on the hard side for a Dac and it took me some while to understand one or two, particularly 23ac, which I almost gave up on, but my parsing is I think what he intended, although perhaps it is on the edge compared with Dac’s usual.
Guardian 26,546 – Pasquale
This started off seeming quite a gentle ride by Pasquale standards, but I got a bit held up on the left-hand side by what I think is a rather unsatisfactory clue for 1d. … Read more >>
Inquisitor 1380: Serpent Is as Serpent Does by Serpent
Serpent slithers into view – venomous? We’ll see. Preamble: Solvers must determine how to enter the answers to across clues, listed in alphabetical order of their (equal-length) answers. Taken in clue order, … Read more >>
Guardian 26,545 by Nutmeg
A bright sunny morning brings Nutmeg, who can be quite a tricksy setter to unravel.
Independent 8891 / Crosophile
Crosophile appears once a month but doesn’t have a regular slot in the week, unlike other some other compilers. His last puzzle which we also blogged, seemed to divide opinion but we don’t … Read more >>
Financial Times 14904 Neo
(Work in progress: Please click here for this same blog but with a picture quiz added. Please do NOT post hereinbelow any comment relating to the picture quiz. Thank you.) A Neo on … Read more >>
Financial Times 14904 with Picture Quiz
(Please post comments on ONLY the picture quiz hereinbelow. To post comments on the crossword puzzle, please click here.) A Neo on the lenient side. Thanks to Neo. Definitions are underlined in the … Read more >>
Guardian 26,544 by Rufus
My apologies for the late arrival of this blog. The puzzle may be found at http://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/cryptic/26544
Guardian Quiptic 804/Hectence
I’m usually a big fan of her Quiptics, but Hectence has given us an over-complicated one here, I fancy. The grid didn’t help. Anyway, over to you. Abbreviations cd cryptic … Read more >>
Independent 8890 by Monk
*=anagram [] = removed e.g. char[m]=char ()=abbreviation e.g. A(mpere)=a Hom. = homophone I finished most of this quite quickly but then took a while winkling out the last few clues such as 14 … Read more >>
Cyclops 544: Who is Silvio?
A very straightforward Cyclops for me — an easy solve, with no clue holding me up for long. I’ve been writing the blog on a grey, damp, cold and gloomy Sunday afternoon, while … Read more >>
Independent on Sunday 1,311 by Poins
The usual high quality, enjoyable puzzle from Poins, if perhaps a little tougher than some, at least for me. The crossing 11 down and 16 across were last in: not being in any … Read more >>
Everyman 3,574
It’s Sunday and my shift at the Everyman wheel.
Beelzebub 1309
I thought I was going to be in for another early finish when the NW, followed by the SW, quadrants went in quite quickly but then the NE took a little longer and … Read more >>
Azed 2235
Given that this puzzle was published on Easter Sunday I was expecting an Azed special, so I was slightly surprised to see just a plain Competition puzzle. There was the … Read more >>