Am I more stupid than normal…?
Independent on Sunday 1361 / Quixote
It’s been quite some time since we’ve seen Quixote on a Sunday. In fact it’s almost five years to the day because his last IoS was No. 1102 on 27th March 2011. The … Read more >>
AZED 2,285 – Give & Take
Hard! Normally I manage to finish AZED with just a paper copy of Chambers for aid. It may take more than one sitting but I get there in a reasonable amount of time. Not this week. I gave up trying to solve unaided early on and even using electronic aids I really struggled. At times I was basically cheating as I was trawling the web for information and using all sorts of word-search programs to try and make progress. Towards the end things got a little easier as the number of checking letters allowed me to revert to a more straightforward approach. Thank you AZED for a great challenge.
Inquisitor – The Good News
From today’s final print edition:
“Fantastic news: the Inquisitor will have a new slot in the i newspaper every Saturday.”
Independent 9182 by Donk (?LAST EVER? Saturday Prize Puzzle – RIP – 19 March 2016)
I have in my hand a piece of paper…and unfortunately this is the last time I will be able to say that about a newsprint copy of an Indy Prize Cryptic (;+<) (My understanding … Read more >>
Guardian 26,836 / Picaroon
A fun puzzle from Picaroon, and not very taxing My favourite clue was 11a AN IDEAL HUSBAND, I think. Across 1. How poet’s day starts, absorbing French from novel (6) MODERN MORN = … Read more >>
Enigmatic Variations No. 1217: Quantitative Easing by Jaques
This week we had an alphabetical jigsaw from Jaques. I have to confess that they’re not my favourite, although I’ve had my fair share to blog at Listen With Others. They generally involve … Read more >>
Independent 9187 / Phi
The honour of blogging the last weekday, dead-tree Indy cryptic puzzle falls to us on this rather sad day. Although the future of the daily cryptic seems reasonably secure in the online version … Read more >>
Guardian Cryptic 26,841 by Pasquale
The puzzle may be found at https://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/cryptic/26841.
Independent 9,186 / Tees
It has been a while since I have solved/blogged a puzzle by Tees. I found this one quite a challenge, despite a fair few write-ins at the start. It took me a while … Read more >>
Financial Times 15,197 by AARDVARK
A tough, but generally fair workout.
Guardian 26,840 / Paul
I really enjoyed this puzzle from Paul – lots of witty clues and, though mostly straightforward, enough of a challenge to keep it interesting. Many thanks, Paul – nice one. Across 5,22 Senior … Read more >>
Financial Times 15,188 – Dante
Monday Prize Crossword / Mar 14, 2016
A bit of an unexciting Dante crossword. No surprises (unlike last time), many double and cryptic definitions.
Financial Times 15,187 by Wanderer
Prize puzzle from the Weekend FT of March 12, 2016
Financial Times 15,196 by IO
Io is the master, no doubt about it as far as I am concerned. This time he kindly lets me finish with the grid filled and everything explained. Thank you Io.