An interesting crossword from Aardvark as usual.
Guardian 26,247 – Paul
Good entertainment from Paul as usual. Most of this went in fairly easily, though there are a couple of places where I’m not totally convinced by my explanations. … Read more >>
Inquisitor 1330: Ninety Four by Schadenfreude
A short preamble told us we had some “abbreviation” to do, and enter two letters in lower case. In each clue the wordplay yields an extra letter not to be entered in the … Read more >>
Financial Times 14608 Armonie
(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 nice straightforward puzzle from Armonie, to … Read more >>
Financial Times 14608 with Picture Quiz
(Please post comments on ONLY the picture quiz hereinbelow. To post comments on the crossword puzzle, please click here.) A nice straightforward puzzle from Armonie, to whom thanks. Definitions are underlined in the clues. … Read more >>
Guardian 26,246 by Philistine
Don’t remember doing a Philistine blog before, quite fun though.
Independent 8592 / Crosophile
Crosophile on a Tuesday is unusual. No doubt all will become clear tomorrow. This is a crossword that should meet all the needs of the commuter. The most obscure word, to … Read more >>
Guardian Quiptic 754 / Hectence
A delightful puzzle, albeit a tad difficult for a Quiptic. Most of the definitions given are from Chambers 12th Edition. Most of the standard abbreviations used in the wordplay are shown with the … Read more >>
Independent 8,591 by Quixote
Monday morning and as is usual every fortnight a mostly easy crossword with a few zingers from Quixote.
Guardian Cryptic N° 26,245 by Rufus
The puzzle may be found at http://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/cryptic/26245. Those who follow this blog may know that Rufus is not my favourite setter, but I found this among his best. Across 1. Type of … Read more >>
Private Eye / Cyclops 519 – Flabby Manifesto
At the start of solving this I was absolutely racing through, slapping in answer after answer covering top left down to bottom right. Then I slowed right down and had to grind out … Read more >>
Beelzebub 1,259
This seemed to be a solve of two halves for me. Progress was quite smooth until the last half dozen or so entries, whereby I had to hit the Chambers search pretty hard … Read more >>
Everyman No. 3524 (20th April)
Lorraine: Good morning, I enjoyed this weeks offering immensely until I got to 11ac and 20dn, needed Nick’s help to solve those two. Thanks Nick. I found it took me … Read more >>
AZED 2,185
The usual Azed, where the wordplay is so precise that you can often be pretty sure of the answers without knowing the words. I solved most of this when away for the weekend and came home with many unknown words written by the clues but not yet in the grid, ready for me to look them up in Chambers.
I thought that 19dn was very good, but my godson had a point when he opined that the ‘e.g.’ takes away from the surface reading. However, Azed (but not all setters, including some in The Times) clearly abhors a definition by example. And rightly so in my opinion.
Definitions in italics.
Independent on Sunday 1261 Alchemi
(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.) Not too much of a problem, … Read more >>