This isn’t really an “easy Monday puzzle” – Tees (as usual) makes us work just a bit harder, but he’s always good value. I enjoyed it.
Guardian Cryptic 28,381 by Pan
A nice Monday puzzle with a few clues that were a little tougher to parse. I liked 10ac, 13ac, 25ac, 14dn, and 20dn. Thanks to Pan
Financial Times 16,722 by PHSSTHPOK
March begins with a PHSSTHPOK…
Cyclops 696 – Istanbul Butcher
A tougher than usual puzzle from Cyclops this fortnight, at least for your correspondent…
Independent on Sunday 1,618 by Nitsy
The puzzle is available here. Hello again. Today it’s Nitsy’s turn to entertain us, and entertained I was. Some surfaces to elicit reactions: an “ew” or two and an “ow” – no … Read more >>
Guardian Genius 212 – Karla
A new setter, or at least a new pseudonym, for the Genius slot: perhaps a John le Carré fan? The rather strangely-worded instructions tell us that “Fourteen clues contain no definition of their … Read more >>
Azed No. 2,541 Plain
An “angular” Azed this week, for reasons explained below.
Everyman 3,880
The puzzle may be found at https://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/everyman/3880.
Independent 10,726 by Klingsor
The puzzle is available here. Hello everyone. Thanks to Klingsor for another classy puzzle. I thought 27a (AMUSINGLY) was very clever and also enjoyed 8d (RUDDERLESS) and 9d (LEGALESE). Given the overall … Read more >>
Guardian Saturday Puzzle 28,374 / Qaos
It’s good to see Qaos slipping into the Saturday slot, with what was, for me, a really entertaining and enjoyable solve, as I would expect from him. At least with Qaos we don’t … Read more >>
Financial Times 16,720 by WANDERER
An excellent offering from WANDERER today to brighten up my Friday.
Independent 10,725 by Phi
Phi-day again, and a fun challenge as usual.
Guardian Cryptic 28,379 by Picaroon
Very enjoyable and mostly quite tough, with the long outer solutions helping a lot. 8/17 was particularly excellent, and I had many other favourites including 11ac, 19ac, 24ac, 28/29, 1/21, 4dn, and 5dn. Thanks to Picaroon
Financial Times 16,719 by BASILISK
A themed offering from Basilisk that took me a while to untangle.
Independent 10,724 by Tees
Tees seems to crop up on different days. It’s over a year since we blogged one of his puzzles.