Fifteensquared – Page 1511 – Never knowingly undersolved

Guardian 24883 – Puck The Magic Dragon

Tue December 15, 2009 at 4:20 pmTue December 15, 2009 at 12:52 am by Uncle Yap

What a fantastic puzzle this turned out to be. A dash of risque, some fun with numbers and a potpourri of some creative and clever devices and the whole thing, extremely entertaining. One … Read more >>

Guardian 24,882 – Rufus

Mon December 14, 2009 at 10:38 am by Andrew

I’m short of time today, so apologies for a brief blog. Either this was harder than a typical Rufus, or I just wasn’t on his wavelength. Some of the cryptic definitions seemed a … Read more >>

Independent 7227 by Hypnos

Mon December 14, 2009 at 9:28 am by NealH

*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone, CD=cryptic def, DD=double def, sp=spoonerism Reasonably challenging in parts with a good mixture of clue types. The clues were mostly solid rather than inspiring, although there were a few … Read more >>

Everyman No. 3297 (December 6th)

Sun December 13, 2009 at 6:30 am by The Trafites

Lorraine: Fairly easy this week again, just love doing Everyman; I cannot wait for Sundays to arrive. Thank you Everyman. Nick: 6dn is interesting; ‘The Lord of the Flies novelist?‘- Collins defines ‘Lord … Read more >>

Azed 1958/are there any Welsh footballers?

Sun December 13, 2009 at 11:19 amSun December 13, 2009 at 12:01 am by ilancaron

Surprisingly fast solve for me — I spent less than an hour before breakfast doing this with a bit of help from the Usual Suspects. Until I came to a crashing halt with … Read more >>

Enigmatic Variations No. 891 — Change in Circumstance by Samuel

Sat December 12, 2009 at 5:33 pmSat December 12, 2009 at 11:17 am by Colin Blackburn

I usually enjoy Samuel puzzles and this one was no exception. His puzzles are usually science-based or themed on old-chestnut jokes. This one was neither of these. Instead it was based on a … Read more >>

Guardian 24,875 (Sat 5 Dec)/Araucaria – Berlin waul

Sat December 12, 2009 at 9:55 amSat December 12, 2009 at 5:00 am by rightback

Solving time: 13 mins When I first looked at this I saw the long multi-word phrases and groaned. In fact one of them (LITTLE BO-PEEP) was obvious and the rest of the clues … Read more >>

Financial Times 13,257 – Bradman

Sat December 12, 2009 at 11:17 amFri December 11, 2009 at 6:26 pm by Gaufrid

Saturday – Now that this puzzle has eventually appeared on the FT website here is an analysis. A mixed bunch of clues from Bradman, some very easy and some that exercised the mind … Read more >>

Independent 7,225/Phi

Sat January 9, 2010 at 10:44 amFri December 11, 2009 at 2:15 pm by Ali

An interesting one this. I only solved one or two clues on my first pass and had no idea what the theme might be. As the grid started to fill up, I spotted … Read more >>

Independent 7,220 by Bannsider (Saturday Prize Puzzle, 5/12/09)

Fri December 11, 2009 at 12:00 pm by Simon Harding

This was certainly a fair bit tougher than Bannsider’s other recent Saturday puzzle. I quite quickly moved from trying to solve this unaided to treating it much as I would a barred weekend … Read more >>

Guardian 24880 / Orlando

Fri December 11, 2009 at 1:51 pmFri December 11, 2009 at 9:09 am by mhl

An enjoyable puzzle today, with nothing too difficult apart from the reference in 11 across, I thought. Across 1. POTHERB PB = “Lead” around OTHER = “different” 9. TRURO TRU[nk] RO[ad] 10. ANNOYANCE … Read more >>

Inquisitor 153 – COMPOSING TWIST by Hypnos

Wed December 16, 2009 at 1:16 pmFri December 11, 2009 at 1:23 am by HolyGhost

Extra letters in the wordplay lead to part of a quotation and its author, from which the (eleven) unclued entries can be deduced. There are ten thematic examples, one of which corresponds to … Read more >>

Independent 7224 by Mordred

Thu December 10, 2009 at 2:05 pmThu December 10, 2009 at 1:24 pm by nmsindy

Thursday is usually the toughest midweek day in the Indy. This was hard, but not exceptionally so, 35 mins. Top half easier than bottom half. Very enjoyable puzzle with some intricate wordplay and … Read more >>

Guardian 24,879 / Araucaria

Thu December 10, 2009 at 9:56 am by Eileen

I think we could call this a typical Araucaria puzzle, so I will say no more here. 🙂 Across 1 SPOKEN: POKE in SN [opposites] 5 GATSBY: GATS [guns] + BY [at … Read more >>

Financial Times 13,256/Mudd

Thu December 10, 2009 at 8:27 pmThu December 10, 2009 at 4:55 am by smiffy

A little bit of everything in here, including an admirable “path less travelled” at 7D, and a Daliesque departure at 22A. Across 1 TACKLE – (elk + cat)<. Somewhat surprisingly, I cannot recall … Read more >>