Guardian Quiptic 782/Pan
A Quiptic should have no bells and whistles, no unusual words, a friendly grid and be clearly clued. Did this puzzle tick those boxes? I think so. Pan has eschewed cds and dds … Read more >>
Independent 8759/Kairos
This setter has produced some cracking puzzles recently, and they seem to crop up on my watch, which is no hardship at all. Another well-crafted, accessible crossword in the Monday slot, which until … Read more >>
Private Eye / Cyclops 533 Ukip Calypso
Took a while to get going on this puzzle. I didn’t solve any till getting IDYLL at 26 from the obvious definition. Successful solving needed crossing letters to aid the brain cells. Once a … Read more >>
Independent on Sunday 1289 Hypnos
(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.) An enjoyable puzzle from Hypnos, to … Read more >>
Independent on Sunday 1289 with Picture Quiz
(Please post comments on ONLY the picture quiz hereinbelow. To post comments on the crossword puzzle, please click here.) An enjoyable puzzle from Hypnos, to whom thanks. Definitions are underlined in the clues. … Read more >>
AZED 2,213
I found this quite tricky, especially on the left-hand side of the grid. I spent a lot of time trawling Chambers to make progress there.
Independent 8,752 by Phi (Saturday Prize Puzzle, 01/11/14)
Aha. A rarish Saturday outing for Phi, no doubt due to being ousted from the Friday slot by Morph’s halloween puzzle. In terms of difficulty, this one didn’t seem out of place for … Read more >>
Guardian 26,406 / Philistine
An enteratining puzzle from Philistine with a theme of nautical terminology. Across 1. Where to conduct fight or flight may be patio to a real 11! (7) COCKPIT Definitions: “Where to conduct fight … Read more >>
Enigmatic Variations No. 1145: Rank Outsiders by Ifor
An interesting clueing device this week, with one word in the definition being an anagram of the true word plus an extra letter. The message given by the extra letters (read thematically) would … Read more >>
Guardian 26.411 – Imogen
A good Friday challenge from Imogen, with some interesting clue constructions. Only two anagrams (and no partial anags) and no hidden clues, which perhaps explains my initial progress was slow. I thought the … Read more >>
Independent 8757 / Phi
It’s back to normal this Phiday, and another excellent puzzle with a good mix of fairly straightforward clues and some which caused a bit of head-scratching. Knowing Phi’s propensity for themes or ninas, … Read more >>
Financial Times 14,773 by BRADMAN
A familiar friend this Friday. Thanks to Bradman for this pleasant jaunt of a solve. Fairly steady progress through out the grid. A couple of clues seemed like they could have been more precise but nothing material enough to take away from some smooth cluing.
Financial Times no.14,772 by Neo
It took me a little while to find a foothold in this multilingual offering from Neo…
Independent 8,756 / Nestor
Today is Thursday, a compiling slot not infrequently occupied by Nestor. Alas, it has not recently fallen to me to blog a Nestor, so I was pleased to see his name alongside today’s … Read more >>