Beelzebub 1,083 (21/11/10)
A good week – not too hard or too easy, though the SW corner put up a fight for me. Highlights were learning that there is an anagram of GYMNAST, and that there … Read more >>
Azed 2008: Sunday 21 November
A mostly straightforward Azed, with a few that held me up for a while and needed to be checked in Chambers (like the definition of ‘office’ in 19a). I didn’t get the wordplay … Read more >>
Everyman No. 3347 (21st November)
Lorraine: Hi fellow solvers, nothing too difficult this week, but had to look up 17d after managing to work out the answer but did not know it was the capital of Estonia. First … Read more >>
Guardian 25,173 (Sat 20 Nov)/Bonxie – Cobblers
Solving time: 14 mins This may have been Bonxie’s first prize puzzle in the Guardian, in which case my congratulations to the setter. There were some nice ideas here but on close analysis … Read more >>
Independent 7519 (Sat 20-Nov) Anax
A Leo Tolstoy themed puzzle because 20-Nov-2010 was exactly 100 years since the great man’s death. I started the puzzle early on the day and didn’t know this till listening to the Today … Read more >>
Enigmatic Variations No. 941 – The Sign of Four by Salamanca
A fellow EV blogger recently mused on the ‘blogger’s nightmare’ of being allocated a puzzle he/she can’t get to the bottom of. Well, here’s an example (unless the penny drops some time between writing … Read more >>
Independent 7,524/Phi
Lovely stuff as ever from Phi. Nothing overly difficult here, but great clueing and a fine range of cryptic devices. Across 1 BULLDOG – BULL (nonsense) + DOG (to follow) 5 BITUMEN – … Read more >>
Financial Times 13,553 / Falcon
Probably an easy ride for someone who’s well up on alcoholic drinks. Given my modest knowledge of the subject, I had a bit of a struggle with some of the answers but the … Read more >>
Guardian 25,178 – Puck
Puck is always entertaining, and sometimes quite tricky, and this was certainly a lot of fun. I found most of it not too difficult, but the NW corner held me up for a … Read more >>
Guardian 25,177 / Paul
I’m a late substitute today, so apologies for any errors or omissions. I had plenty of smiles – and some outright laughs – with this entertaining Paul puzzle. There’s just one query – … Read more >>
Independent 7523 by Nimrod
One equals zero? With Nimrod it does. An Ashes inspired crossword, our boys haven’t had the start we might have hoped for alas. There’s a lot of wishful thinking of ducks for the … Read more >>
Financial Times 13,552 / Mudd
I’m rather pleased that smiffy asked me to swap days with him this week due to his Thanksgiving celebrations as I ended up with this most enjoyable puzzle from Mudd. Probably towards the … Read more >>
Beelzebub 1,082 (14/11/10)
A tough week, I think. At least, I had to rely heavily on Chambers while both solving and blogging. 3dn evades my explanation for the time being. *=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone, cd=cryptic definition, … Read more >>
Financial Times 13,543 – Crux
Monday Prize Crossword on 15 November 2010 Another easy start to the week ACROSS 1 ATMOSPHERIC *(compare this) 7 HOG dd 9 TITAN Cha of TIT (bird) AN (middle letters of brANch) 10 … Read more >>
Financial Times 13,452 by Cincinnus
Prize puzzle from the Weekend FT of November 13 Let’s start with wild applause for the brilliant &lit. 20A (IDES). Then another ovation for, collectively, 28A (REPHRASED), 2D (SPIRITUAL), 7D (GRILL) and 18D … Read more >>