Prize puzzle from the Weekend FT of January 2, 2016
Financial Times 15,136 by CHALMIE
Easy and difficult by turns, but enjoyable all the way through. Thank you Chalmie.
Guardian Cryptic 26,779 by Crucible
Very enjoyable – favourite was 12ac, but there were many excellent clues. Thanks Crucible.
Independent 9125 / DAC
It’s Wednesday, it’s Dac – What else can we say? Another excellent puzzle! 1 Attack viciously? Proceed towards jail, having broken a rule wrongly (2,3,3,7) GO FOR THE JUGULAR GO FORTH (proceed … Read more >>
Inquisitor 1419: Fierce Pro by Lato
Preamble: Three unclued entries have been adversely affected by a plethora of thematic answers which have caused so much confusion that their own clues have become muddled, each giving the wordplay for one … Read more >>
Financial Times 15,135 by GAFF
This was 1ac to solve…
Guardian 26,778 – Nutmeg
Another excellent puzzle from Nutmeg, which started seeming a bit impenetrable, but yielded steadily and satisfyingly. Thanks to this gem of a setter. Across 1. THROUGH TRAFFIC … Read more >>
Independent 9,124 / Punk
It has been a while since it has fallen to me to blog a Punk crossword, so I was rather looking forward to getting stuck into this one. And Punk certainly did not … Read more >>
Independent 9123 by Daedalus
A very nice puzzle from a compiler who is fairly new to the Indy. It was quite accessible but had some neat bits of misdirection and some well-hidden definitions, 11 down being my … Read more >>
Guardian 26,777 / Rufus
What can one say? Just what we know we are going to get from Rufus on a Monday. A gentle start to the week with not too much wordplay to ponder over. . … Read more >>
Guardian Quiptic 843 Anto
I daresay, relatively speaking, I spent more time on this than most Cryptics. Thanks to Anto. I recall that commenters (mostly) rounded on this setter in his/her previous outings. Déjà vu! Definitions are … Read more >>
Beelzebub 1,348
A funny sort of week, at least in my experience. I don’t ever time solving, but I do sometimes take the paper to the pub where I find the imperial pint to be … Read more >>
Indepedent on Sunday 1350/Raich
The first IoS crossword of 2016, Raich as the setter, and my turn to solve and blog. Life is good. You can always rely on Raich to provide a good Sindy offering. A … Read more >>
Azed 2274
A gentle start to the Azed year: I don’t time myself, but I think I finished this (apart from checking a couple of stragglers in Chambers) in less than half an hour. As … Read more >>
Everyman 3613
The puzzle may be found at http://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/everyman/3613.