Guardian 25,599 – Rufus
Maybe I just wasn’t on the right wavelength today, but I found this a lot harder than usual for Rufus. Most of the clues I had trouble with are double or cryptic definitions, … Read more >>
Cyclops 465: The canine testicles
The usual fun from Cyclops, who has managed as ever to work all sorts of salacious references into wordplay for simple and innocent words. Clue of the fortnight, though, has to be 17a, … Read more >>
Independent on Sunday 1153: Poins. Heart to heart
An entertaining puzzle from Poins, with a mini-theme of HEART (24d). Apologies for late and swiftly posted blog, and for any mistakes I have overlooked. Across 1 BALSA Model makers use it with … Read more >>
Everyman No. 3416 (25th March)
Lorraine: Good morning to you all, Unusually I did not do this weeks puzzle on Sunday but did it during the week. Lots of lovely clue’s this week, ‘bootless’ had me stuck for a … Read more >>
Guardian Genius 105 / Crucible
The Genius puzzle could be described as one of the blocked crossword world’s entry into the more challenging type of crossword arena championed by the likes of The Inquisitor, Enigmatic Variations and The … Read more >>
Azed 2077
The usual thing from Azed: utterly sound clueing and lots of wading through Chambers in search of words you have never heard of, which is quite fun, once you’re used to it. As … Read more >>
Guardian 25,592 / Araucaria
(Sorry to the lateness of this post – I meant to do it yesterday evening but it slipped my mind, I’m afraid.) This was an enjoyable puzzle, although we found it quite tough … Read more >>
Independent 7938 Tyrus (Sat 24-Mar-2012)
I had a bit of ‘blogger’s blindness’ on this one. I found it a struggle, harder than most Tyrus puzzles I’ve tackled before – hard to get started and hard to make … Read more >>
Enigmatic Variations 1010 Lego by Chalicea
Lego – now that’s something you can never get tired of playing with! A nice short and sweet preamble with extra letters in the down clues giving an instruction to solvers. All relatively … Read more >>
Guardian 25,597 / Araucaria
Stella appears to have gone walkabout so I am a late stand-in. A bit of fun from the good Rev today, with some characteristic liberties, though I must admit that it took me a … Read more >>
Financial Times 13,966 by Orense
Fair puzzle and a nifty solve ACROSS 1 DEAD RINGER LATE dead RINGER caller 7 FIST hand FAST firm swapping A for I 9 PLAN design PLAN[t] most of factory … Read more >>
Beelzebub 1150
Straightforward solve this week – very enjoyable ACROSS 2 Want man in hospital to have cherries BLACKHEARTS cherries LACK want HE in BARTS hospital 10 Figures with how many faces? … Read more >>
Independent 7943 / Phi
We were pleased to have another Phi to blog but for some reason this wasn’t as much fun as some of his more recent ones. There’s nothing to complain about, all the clues … Read more >>
Financial Times no.13,965 by LOROSO
An invigorating challenge to start the day. Some clues took me far longer to solve than they should have, but I’d still rate this is as an above-average toughie by FT standards. Thank-you, Loroso. … Read more >>
Independent 7,942 / Nestor
My one-in-every-four Thursday slot has thrown up a Nestor several times recently, and I am certainly not complaining! With Nestor, you know that you have a challenge on your hands, but you also … Read more >>