Guardian 25,342 – Brummie
Brummie’s puzzles are always fun to solve and today’s selection of clues has its share of all kinds of devices. Best of all, it reminded me of carefree days of yore, playing board … Read more >>
Guardian Genius 95 / Lavatch
A very clever puzzle from Lavatch. Below I’ve set out the clues with the answers they directly lead to, and below that I’ll explain what has to be done to them to get … Read more >>
Independent 7687 by Morph
*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone, CD=cryptic def, DD=double def, sp=spoonerism I found this quite tough going and it took me a long time to see how some of the clues worked. There were a … Read more >>
Guardian Quiptic 603 / Hectence
While I really enjoyed this puzzle, I thought that many of the constructs and indicators were a bit too difficult for a Quiptic. As with the previous Quiptic that I reviewed from this … Read more >>
Guardian 25,341 / Rufus
Monday morning and a fairly typical Rufus, I think, although the cryptic definitions are perhaps slightly less cryptic than usual and some double definitions are rather similar in meaning – but the surfaces … Read more >>
Independent on Sunday 1111 by Glow-worm
Number 1111 but no obvious link I could see. Across 1 LABOUR OF LOVE Labour (party) of (about) Love (nothing) 10 UNDATED Wallflowers don’t go on dates 11 NIGERIA [A(bo)rigine]* less … Read more >>
Beelzebub 1110
ACROSS 1 Court giving year to unscrupulous character CHANCERY CHANCER + Y 6 Pound snatched by poor, that’s clear BALD L in BAD 9 Religious adherent following two lines of St … Read more >>
Azed 2035
I started doing this on Sunday morning while looking after my nearly-3-year-old grandson, unsurprisingly making not much progress, and didn’t get around to finishing it off until Saturday, when in my less distracted … Read more >>
Everyman Nº 3,374 (29 May)
I found this distinctly easier than last week’s Everyman, with mostly simple wordplays, which should help if the range of your general knowledge does not coincide with the compiler’s. Across 1. Win and … Read more >>
Independent 7680 / Nestor (Prize Puzzle Sat. 28th May)
Not the easiest of Indy prize puzzles that I have solved but not the most difficult either. There were a few ‘entry’ clues that went in during the first pass and then it … Read more >>
Enigmatic Variations No.968 – Four Ways by Owzat
This was my favourite EV for some time. It was also one of the easiest, which – I insist – is entirely coincidental. Who would have thought that any language needed a word … Read more >>
Guardian Prize Puzzle 25,334 by Araucaria
A nice enough crossword from Araucaria, but not one that really grabbed my attention. I got the feeling that Arucaria could have produced something much cleverer with this theme if he had really put his … Read more >>
Financial Times 13,710 / Falcon
Falcon’s byline holds the promise of an easy, neat puzzle, and this was no exception. An abundance of anagrams, a wide range of references and simple fun. Across 1 MARGRAVE MA (old lady) … Read more >>
Guardian 25,339 – Orlando
Challenging but enjoyable with a lot of clever surface cluing. Across 1 CLEAVE C[hop] + LEAVE=”up sticks” 4 ETCHINGS ETC=”and more of the same” + [t]HINGS=”items needing no introduction” 9 MOSES Grandma MOSES … Read more >>
Independent 7685/Phi
The usual very nice crossword from Phi. Not all the clues were easy, yet they can all be easily explained. I think. When I saw the six unches at the top and similar … Read more >>