A typically witty and allusive puzzle from Paul this week.
Inquisitor Review of 2017-8 – The Results
Where next?
A familiar figure sits in the first-class lounge, presumably waiting to embark on the next leg of his round-the-world crossword tour. Having navigated the coast of Australia in 2017, last year Harribobs arrived in the USA to take in the sights of the Western states. And now, having conquered America, where will he head next? It could be time to dust off the atlas and revise the provinces of Canada or the countries of North Africa…
Enigmatic Variations No. 1364: Untitled by Samuel
Hi all. I always enjoy blocked puzzles by Samuel, but as a very recent dabbler behind the bars, this is the first time I’ve tackled an EV by him. From VACANT last time … Read more >>
Financial Times 16,068 by BRADMAN
A straightforward challenge from the Don this friday. Made quick work of it with only 2d holding me up a bit.
Guardian Cryptic 27,721 by Paul
Very slow going…
Independent 10,067 / Phi
True to form, Phi brings another string of mid-week puzzles to a close. I found this to be at the easier end of the Phi spectrum in terms of difficulty and solved it … Read more >>
Guardian 27,720 – Imogen
A few easier clues got me started, but generally I found this pretty hard. As one expects from Imogen, it’s all clearly and fairly clued in retrospect, though I have a couple of … Read more >>
Financial Times 16,067 by ORENSE
Orense is today’s FT compiler.
Independent 10066 / Gila
Gila provides a typical Thursday puzzle – slightly tricky in places This was a fairly steady solve, but not very quick. There seemed to be quite a lot of wordplays … Read more >>
Financial Times 16,057 by Goliath
Prize puzzle from the Weekend FT of January 5, 2019
Financial Times 16,066 by CHALMIE
Sorry this is so late. I completely forgot it was my turn to write the blog.
Independent 10,065 by Monk
After a run of Monk’s crosswords always being blogged by me, there has been a long gap since I had the pleasure. This is because (being so difficult?) he seems to confine himself almost completely nowadays to the Saturday Prize Puzzle.
Actually I’m not sure it really was much of a pleasure. It was remarkably difficult and it took me ages to do all but two (one of which is I now see the unconvincing homophone I had rejected), and there were some very difficult clues, with rare words and not always convincing (to me, at any rate) equivalences of words. Some years ago I used to look out for Monk crosswords because they were so good. Perhaps I’ve changed over the years.
Definitions in maroon, underlined. Anagram indicators in italics (not many of these, which partly explains the difficulty).
Guardian Cryptic 27,719 by Picaroon
A tour de force from Picaroon.
Inquisitor 1576: YNTHFYHFTTF HTTL by Schadenfreude
As trailed by Nimrod in his review of last year, we are kicking off this year with a puzzle from Schadenfreude. The last time I saw a title like that was about a … Read more >>
Financial Times 16,065 by PETO
Today’s usual FT blogger is away so I’m standing in.