Guardian 25,302 – Chifonie
My spooky synchronicity with Chifonie continues as I get another of his puzzles to blog. As usual it’s a pleasant enough solve (though with two examples of defining a place by “in X”, … Read more >>
Guardian 25,301 – Paul
Found this very tough but enjoyable, especially 16a, 7d and 21,3. Still unsure on a couple of clues. Across 9 EXTENSION =Annexe. “ex-tension” might be a state of relief 10 SLO-MO [O]SLO is … Read more >>
Financial Times 13,673 by Monk
A (mostly) straightforward crossword today, with only one clue (14 across ) that I’m not happy about. Enjoyable, good fun and no obscure words or archaic definitions, which is nice. There have been so many … Read more >>
Financial Times 13,664 by Cinephile
Prize puzzle from the Weekend FT of April 9 I was down on Cinephile’s last puzzle in this slot but he makes up for it with this one. I have a beef about … Read more >>
Independent 7647/Dac
As elegant an offering from Dac as I can remember. The surfaces are uniformly excellent and all make good sense, and there is nothing at all that I can see as being remotely … Read more >>
Inquisitor 1172: Inventor/Invention by Loda
Back from a week’s walking north of Alnwick, and after the ‘moorland treks’ provided by the previous two puzzles, this one was more of ‘a stroll on the beach’. Across clues have a … Read more >>
Financial Times 13,665 / Crux
FT Prize Puzzle from Monday April 11 This blog is appearing one day earlier than usual, since the puzzle indicated that solutions were due by Tuesday (rather than the usual Wednesday), April 19. … Read more >>
Financial Times 13672 Loroso
This has been gruelling! It took me the better part of the day to finish, the last 2 being 25 and 23. Looking back I think the difficulty was contributed by the lower … Read more >>
Guardian 25,300 / Boatman
Uncle Yap is away so I have the pleasure of covering today’s excellent puzzle. An appropriate theme for the week before Easter, including as it does the ‘cross’, with several clues also being … Read more >>
Independent 7646 by Radian
Tuesday and a sterling effort from Radian, I was a bit nervous after struggling with one or two of his in the past. . When I say sterling, I meant Sterling; Latin isn’t … Read more >>
Independent 7645/Quixote
My first foray into blogging a daily cryptic, so a slightly (actually, very) scary moment. But Quixote’s clear cluing got me over the line eventually, with only a couple of the final solutions … Read more >>
Quiptic 596/Hectence
A well-clued and straightforward puzzle from Hectence today, with only a couple of clues falling into the more difficult category. dd double definition cd cryptic definition (xxxx)* anagram anagrind = anagram indicator Across … Read more >>
Guardian 25,299 / Rufus
I found this trickier than usual for Rufus, but with lots of nice clues – I particularly liked 14a, 4d and 5d. I suspect I’m missing something in 22a… Across 7. OUT OF … Read more >>
Beelzebub 1,103 (10/04/11)
Of the last two weeks’ Beelzebub puzzles, I think I got lucky, having struggled to get anywhere with 1,102, and having raced through this one unaided. *=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone, cd=cryptic definition, dd=double … Read more >>
Independent on Sunday 1,104 by Hypnos
My first non-Quixote Independent on Sunday blog, and this week it’s Hypnos. This – perhaps appropriately – seemed a shade easier than I recall previous Hypnos puzzles being. I had to rely on … Read more >>