Guardian 25,002 / Chifonie
This is a fairly typical Chifonie puzzle, largely made up of charades and straightforward insertions. There is one clue that I particularly liked and, I’m afraid, one that, however good the rest of … Read more >>
Independent 7,347/Math
Always a pleasure to land a puzzle by Math, who is one of my favourite setters in the Indy stable. You can always expect some music references and other assorted pop culture, as … Read more >>
Financial Times 13,376 / Armonie
A good puzzle from Armonie. As alwyas, the clues are concise and generally have smooth, natural surface readings. I wasn’t excited about any of the two-word anagrams but I particularly enjoyed 3, 10 and … Read more >>
Guardian 25,001 – Orlando
As usual, a very fair, amusing and not-too-hard offering from Orlando aka Cincinnus, a regular in the FT Saturday spot. A very good morning’s entertainment ACROSS 1 BUCKBOARD Cha of BUCK (American dollar … Read more >>
Independent 7346 by Virgilius
*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone, CD=cryptic def, DD=double def, sp=spoonerism Another brilliant themed puzzle by Virgilius. The theme was set out in clue 14 (“marginal seats”) and all the words along the perimeter of … Read more >>
Guardian 25,000 – Enigmatist
With no disrespect to Enigmatist, I was surprised to see him as the setter of this momentously-numbered puzzle: like others I was expecting an Araucaria special, or perhaps a Rufus in honour of … Read more >>
Guardian Genius 82, Lavatch: Regression to the mean
An entertaining puzzle from Lavatch — and not too difficult once you spotted what was happening. Where a clash occurred, you needed to 1a,25 — use the letter alphabetically half-way between the two … Read more >>
Beelzebub 1,053 (25/04/10)
Brilliant, finally a whole Beelzebub completed without recourse to references, and in reasonably good time too. Whilst I’d like to think I’m getting better, it seems more likely that this was a relatively … Read more >>
Everyman No. 3317 (25th April)
Lorraine: Nice easy jog along this week, 20 across had me going for a while as I didn’t think of loaded as having lots of money, when I eventually twigged I did laugh … Read more >>
Azed 1978
The usual Azed, full of neat and tightly-constructed clues. Across 1 KEKS — keks are trousers and kex is a dry hollow herbaceous stalk 4 POPESHIP — (hopes)* in pip, and the Pope … Read more >>
Guardian 24,993 (Sat 24 April)/Paul – Fast food
Solving time: 5 minutes A welcome return for Paul to the Saturday slot. For a prize puzzle this was surprisingly straightforward but still very enjoyable. It also made me very hungry with so … Read more >>
Enigmatic Variations No. 911 MMO by Glow-worm
A murder mystery this week – sounds a good one. The preamble promises a hunt for not only the murder victim, but also the location of the victim and the investigator of the case. … Read more >>
Independent 7344 by Phi
I found this very much on the easy side, solving time 13 mins. As always with Phi, well-constructed, clear, clues with little scope for doubt. * = anagram ACROSS 1 IDENTITY THEFT ‘?’ … Read more >>
Financial Times 13,373 / Bradman
This crossword of average difficulty from the master is a pleasant solve. Many feel-good words in the clues: best, great, famous, prime, superb, chief, right, fresh, true, leading, successful, generous. Across 1 COBBLER – A … Read more >>
Guardian 24,998 – Araucaria
I found this mostly pretty easy for a Friday Araucaria, especially after getting 1ac immediately. Lots of the usual Araucaria wit, and two very clever &lits (though both with minor flaws), and no … Read more >>