This was quite a struggle in places. rather tougher than the last Philistine I blogged.
Independent 8,622 / Hob
You never quite know who’ you’ll have to pit your wits against on a Tuesday, and this week it fell to me to do battle with Hob! This was exactly the kind of … Read more >>
Independent 8621 by Dac
*=anagram [] = removed e.g. char[m]=char ()=abbreviation e.g. A(mpere)=a Hom. = homophone There is (1 across) something special planned for Wednesday, so Dac has been moved to Monday. I thought this was a … Read more >>
Guardian Quiptic 759 / Provis
According to the Guardian website, Provis has only appeared twice before today, once in February and once in April. At that time I wasn’t solving the Quiptic on a regular basis and so … Read more >>
Guardian Cryptic N° 26,275 by Rufus
The puzzle may be found at http://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/cryptic/26275. Even for Rufus, this puzzle seems heavy on the CDs and DDs, and a couple which are just Ds. Across 1. Being in the wrong scene, … Read more >>
Beelzebub 1,264
I’m a little behind with my Beelzebub postings, for which I apologise. This was almost literally a puzzle of two halves. I took Beelzebub to my favourite pub in Camberwell, as is my … Read more >>
Guardian Genius 131 / Picaroon
We haven’t done the Genius crossword for a while, but this was a very enjoyable one. We found it hard going for the first week or so, but eventually figured out that what … Read more >>
Azed 2190
A medium-difficulty Azed (for me) this time. As usual, no problems with the excellent clues (apart from a slight eyebrow-raise at 1d), but there were a few mistakes/misprints in both the online and … Read more >>
Independent on Sunday 1266/Hypnos
I think I have pinned this all down, but there are a couple where I’d be happy to be corrected. Every setter has his or her particular style, and I don’t think … Read more >>
Everyman N° 3,529 (26 May)
The puzzle may be found at http://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/everyman/3529. Everyman’s usual mix of smooth surfaces and elegant if not too complicated constructions, with film references and geographical references thrown in. Across 1. Depressed facing autumn … Read more >>
Guardian Prize 26,268 / Brummie
The special instructions were similar to those of the previous Saturday’s Prize puzzle: ‘eight clues lack a definition; their solutions are of a kind’. This time, the theme was islands, which I tentatively … Read more >>
Independent 8614 by Tyrus (Saturday Prize Puzzle 24 May 2014)
A good, honest cryptic work-out from Tyrus this week – no fancy themes or Ninas (that I could see, anyway), just a ‘Ronseal’ puzzle – does what it says on the tin… Things proceeded fairly … Read more >>
Enigmatic Variations 1122 Pet Shop Boys et al by Dysart
8 jumbles, 28 misprinted clues – members of a group to find. An outline to be drawn through 12 connecting and symmetrically placed cells and 6 cells to highlight representing the title? Sounds … Read more >>
Independent 8,619 by Phi
Phi is approaching Dac status: it is hard to find new things to say about him, because his crosswords are always so good and sound and there are hardly any points where you have any doubts.
I have looked for ages at the completed grid, and apart from the fact that at one point in the unches you can read “he did us”, which is probably just chance, I can see nothing. Unless this is some reference to the book and Conan Doyle, which doesn’t seem to be the case. But knowing Phi there will be something.
Definitions in italics.
Financial Times 14,635 by MUDD
A pleasant serving from Mudd, thanks to whom for setting a grid which escaped qualification as neither a cakewalk nor a mind-bender. I got through the left half of the grid pretty quickly before losing momentum, thanks largely due to the SE corner (which in my opinion, would have been easy for most others).