Guardian 25612 – Tramp
Phew! What a tough nut to crack, taking me well over the hour, my criterion for a difficult puzzle. It did not help that the mini-theme is something which I have never seen … Read more >>
Guardian Cryptic 25611 Rufus
A typical Rufus, compactly clued with double and cryptic definitions mostly. I reckon there were fewer anagrams (which type of clue I find relatively easier), which is probably why I took a bit … Read more >>
Guardian Quiptic 648/Algol
A couple of surprises when I opened up this morning’s puzzle: a new setter, and a theme. I can’t ever remember there being a themed Quiptic before (although there was a hidden message … Read more >>
Independent 7957 by Quixote
*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone, CD=cryptic def, DD=double def, sp=spoonerism A fairly standard Quixote with some nice clues. As a sceptic, I rather liked 13 down. Across 1 Trouble Spots: Tots around Roubles + … Read more >>
Private Eye/Cyclops 466 – Befoul banana’s kin
This crossword was unusual in two respects. It had a large number of clues: This grid design gives 32 lights and only one clue involved two lights, whereas Cyclops often creates longer answers … Read more >>
Beelzebub 1,153
A rare, completely unaided finish for me, though I did turn to Chambers a modest number of times while preparing the blog post. It’s impressive that Beelzebub manages to vary the level of … Read more >>
Everyman No. 3418 (8th April)
Lorraine: Good morning to you all. This weeks offering was rather difficult I felt, so once again I had to enlist Nick’s help. I hope you all faired better than me. Thank you to … Read more >>
Azed 2079
It’s often said that you know you are right when you complete the last stage of a Listener puzzle properly. I think the same can be said of the parsing Azed’s clues. If … Read more >>
Independent on Sunday 1,155 by Raich
The third Sunday Raich I’ve drawn on the trot, I think, so it seems the 152 calendar is somewhat in sync with that of the IoS. No complaints at all from me, as … Read more >>
Independent 7,950 / Morph (Saturday Prize Crossword 7/04/12)
Someone once asked us if being a blogger took the pleasure out of completing the puzzles. Our answer was a resounding …. “No!” Today was definitely one of the occasions when our faces … Read more >>
Enigmatic Variations No. 1,012: Drab Cops by Nudd
A cryptic title, hinting maybe at Columbo, with his dour demeanour and down-at-heel dress sense? The preamble tells us to find a horizontally-symmetrical four word quotation, and twelve answers needing some sort of adjustment … Read more >>
Guardian Easter Special 25,604 by Araucaria
Great stuff! After some easy puzzles during the week we have this really solid challenge for the Easter weekend. I thought this one was harder than the usual holiday specials from Araucaria. There were not … Read more >>
Guardian 25,609 – Araucaria
Most of the clueing in this was fairly straightforward (though there are a couple I can’t fully explain), but there were a few references that I needed to look up to confirm the … Read more >>
Financial Times 13,977 by Bradman
Sharp and intelligent offering from the Don today ACROSS 7 RAILLERY banter ILL ER in RAY light 8 INDIGO colour INDI[a] GO vitality 11 NANCY female FANCY imagine with … Read more >>
Independent 7955 / Phi
If it’s Friday it’s usually Phi and so it is today. I found this a bit tougher than some Phis that I have solved recently, but the parsing was very … Read more >>