Fifteensquared – Page 1566 – Never knowingly undersolved

Guardian 24,839 (Sat 24 Oct)/Boatman – Close thing

Sat October 31, 2009 at 5:00 am by rightback

Solving time: 20 mins plus another couple of days mulling over 13dn and 25ac. I’m afraid I thought this was a poor puzzle. There is a strange theme with the phrase ‘dead-end’ (or, … Read more >>

Independent 7,189 by Phi

Fri October 30, 2009 at 10:30 am by Simon Harding

*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone, cd=cryptic definition, dd=double definition. A solve of two halves for me – I raced through most of this in minutes, then ground to a halt on the remaining few. … Read more >>

Financial Times 13,221 / Orense

Fri October 30, 2009 at 4:14 pmFri October 30, 2009 at 10:09 am by shuchi

A mixed bag. Some easy clues, some not. Some fine clues, a few I have quibbles with or questions about. The NE corner was slow to fall, although after finishing the puzzle I … Read more >>

Guardian 24,844 / Araucaria

Fri October 30, 2009 at 9:23 am by Andrew

I guessed the planetary theme almost immediately, knowing that “planet” means “wanderer”, from the fact that the planets move in the sky relative to the so-called “fixed stars”. It’s not a complete set: … Read more >>

Indy 7184 by Tyrus (Sat 24 Oct)

Fri October 30, 2009 at 5:00 am by beermagnet

We haven’t seen Tyrus for a while. When we have it has been tough, as this one proved to be. I was pleased to get a good handful on the first pass over … Read more >>

Inquisitor 147 – Bear Puzzle – by Raich

Fri October 30, 2009 at 6:03 pmFri October 30, 2009 at 1:23 am by kenmac

What a bad start, I thought. I looked at 1 across and got the answer straight away. Usually when that happens, I’m doomed to failure. But, as it happens, it wasn’t an omen, I … Read more >>

Guardian 24,843 – Chifonie

Thu October 29, 2009 at 2:19 pm by manehi

Across 1 PENANCE PENCE around AN 5 LAMPREY LAM+PREY 10 SPRY SPY i.e. “mole” around R[esistance] 11 APOTHEOSIS (Sophie ‘as to)* 12 PRESTO PO around REST – a spider is one of the … Read more >>

Financial Times 13,220/ Mudd

Wed November 4, 2009 at 9:47 amThu October 29, 2009 at 1:10 pm by smiffy

This one was something of a ripper (see 19D) in terms of trickiness for me. Probably one of my slowest solves this year. I found the NE-corner particularly tough to gain a toe-hold … Read more >>

Independent 7188 by Anax

Thu October 29, 2009 at 12:23 pm by nmsindy

Anax has fairly recently joined the Indy team and also, I believe, sets for the Times and set one of the three puzzles used in the recent Times Crossword Championship won by Mark … Read more >>

Financial Times 13,211 – Mudd

Thu October 29, 2009 at 12:02 am by Uncle Yap

Monday Prize Crossword on 19 October 2009 dd = double definition cd = cryptic definition rev = reversed or reversal ins = insertion cha = charade ha = hidden answer *(fodder) = anagram … Read more >>

Financial Times 13,210 by Cinephile

Thu October 29, 2009 at 3:51 pmThu October 29, 2009 at 12:01 am by Pete Maclean

Prize puzzle from the Weekend FT of October 17 My favourite of these clues is 9A. Then there are a few that I do not completely understand (3D, 4D, 15D) and one, 4D, … Read more >>

Guardian 24842 / Gordius

Wed October 28, 2009 at 3:22 pm by mhl

Apologies for the late post – I’m afraid I woke up late in an inconvenient time zone, don’t have access to a printer, found my online Chambers subscription had run out (and it … Read more >>

Independent 7187 by Dac

Wed October 28, 2009 at 11:11 pmWed October 28, 2009 at 11:30 am by nmsindy

Excellent puzzle as ever from Dac – I found it on the easy side, 17 mins * = anagram ACROSS 1 S NATCH (naturally = of course) 4 KNOCKER’S 9 TOAST boY 10 … Read more >>

Financial Times 13,219 / Cinephile

Wed October 28, 2009 at 9:34 am by Gaufrid

A very enjoyable puzzle from Cinephile today, made easier by the horse racing theme which was fairly simple to determine from the first reference in 9a but as I was doing the clues … Read more >>

Financial Times 13,218 / Jason

Tue October 27, 2009 at 2:20 pm by Gaufrid

I’ve mixed views about this one. For example I liked the anagram indicators ‘snarled’ in 12a and ‘reprise’ in 20d but was unhappy with 22a and 23d as indicated below. I was also … Read more >>