Puzzles 1158 – 1210
Guardian 25,209 – Rufus
A fairly gentle start to the year from Rufus – I quite liked 13 and 21. Across 5 REAPED P[hysical] E[ducation] in READ=study 6 RECENT CE=church in RENT=schism 9 STRAYS STAYS with R[ight] … Read more >>
Azed 2013/Boxing Day
I missed the boat on this one. Later than I thought with this post. Work? Anyway, a couple of disappointing wordplays that escape me with a few very good clues with very well-hidden … Read more >>
Genius 90 / Crucible
I am a last minute stand-in and it may be difficult for me to remember what I did a month ago, particularly with the festivities in between, so please excuse any errors or … Read more >>
Guardian Quiptic No 581 by Pan
I think this one fills the Quiptic slot very well, with no obscurities of vocabulary, construction or references. ACROSS 1 PANATELLA Anagram (‘change’) of ‘lent a pal’ + ‘a’. 6 COST Envelope of … Read more >>
Independent 7555 by Raich
*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone, CD=cryptic def, DD=double def, sp=spoonerism I swapped this blogging spot with NMSIndy, which in retrospect is rather fortunate, as it would otherwise have left him with a rather too … Read more >>
Private Eye/Cyclops 433 – Pseudocruciverbalism
Christmas at the Eye – another year – another big grid with proportionally inflated prize**. Preamble: Twelve clues, lacking definition, lead to the names of people quoted in Pseuds Corner in 2010. While … Read more >>
Beelzebub 1,088 (26/12/2010)
I believe this to be the one hundredth Beelzebub I have blogged here, and it was something a little different to celebrate the Christmas season. The preamble told us that: Solvers can choose … Read more >>
Independent on Sunday 1089 by Quixote
Don Quixote de la Mancha deftly subdued another giant aka windmill with last week’s offering of a variety of cryptic devices, each crafted immaculately and with very few wasted words. ACROSS 9 LASSITUDE … Read more >>
Everyman nº3352, Sunday, 26th Dec.
An enjoyable puzzle, as always, with a few big smiles, like 2d, 4d or 8d, but I must confess to being a little disappointed – however much I look at it, I can’t … Read more >>
Guardian 25,197 (Christmas Jumbo, Sat 18 Dec)/Araucaria – Moonlight departure
Solving time: 45 mins This Christmas special from Araucaria included several literary works, mostly with religious connotations, as referenced in the preamble. The Kipling character was Yellow Dog Dingo, the two phrases were … Read more >>
Independent 7,553 / Eimi – He’s behind you!
An enjoyable solve from Eimi to bring this year’s batch of Indy crosswords to an end. An unannounced seasonal theme added an extra layer of entertainment to the puzzle, with the panto season … Read more >>
Indy – Review of 2010
As in former years, I noted down my solving times for Indy puzzles in 2010. I do not approach puzzles in ‘race the clock’ mode, but always found it interesting to note the … Read more >>
Guardian 25,207 / Orlando
Orlando’s puzzles are always entertaining and I’m pleased to get one of his for my last blog of the year. There’s a good variety of cluing, with smooth, often witty, surfaces throughout, some … Read more >>
Enigmatic Variations No. 945 – Cold Comfort by Loda
Cold comfort, indeed – a wonderfully themed EV for the weather at the time! The preamble seemed fairly complex – twenty answers entered ‘in a certain way’, most clues containing a misprint – … Read more >>