I’m always excited to see Arachne’s name at the top of the puzzle, and as usual she provides an entertaining challenge full of misdirection. Many lovely clues, but favourites were 10ac, 21ac, 27ac and 28ac.
Independent 9066 / Dac
It’s the first Wednesday of a new month so Dac is back. There were a lot of names, song titles or film titles in today’s puzzle which is unusual for … Read more >>
Inquisitor 1409: Additions by Samuel
Samuel is a prolific setter of barred crosswords (with a few blocked ones thrown in for good measure). He is also the editor of the Enigmatic Variations barred series in the Sunday Telegraph. … Read more >>
Independent 9065 by Alchemi
All very pleasing from Alchemi today. Some of the clues were nice and there seem to be no problems with any of them.
Financial Times 15078 by CRUX
Comments of a grumpy old man
Guardian 26,719 – Picaroon
An entertaining and not-too-difficult puzzle from Picaroon. I spotted the theme almost immediately from 9a and 10a, but it didn’t help greatly, as all of the 13 fish (shown in blue below) have … Read more >>
Guardian Cryptic 26718 by Orlando
Wot no Rufus? A relatively gentle Orlando is always a welcome change.
Quiptic 833 by Provis
An enjoyable dip into the week’s cryptic waters from Quiptic regular Provis.
Independent 9064/Hob
Like the rest of my fellow Monday Indy bloggers, I’ve given up on the first puzzle of the working week being the ‘easy one’ (although that was the only reason that I put … Read more >>
Beelzebub 1,338
I don’t know whether the Lord of the Flies is wreaking his terrible vengeance upon us after Gaufrid recently accused his crosswords of being a bit too easy, but that’s two blog days … Read more >>
Guardian Genius 148 by Crucible
A ‘centripetal’ jigsaw, with 20 clues in a mystery sequence, two unclued ‘kitchen items’, and a solitary square in the middle to be deduced as an ‘appropriate’ Roman numeral. Help! Stop the world, … Read more >>
Everyman 3603
A sound puzzle from Everyman this morning. One or two clues were a bit convoluted for my liking, but otherwise the usual approachable stuff. Abbreviations cd cryptic definition dd double … Read more >>
AZED 2264
This time on the easier end of the Azed spectrum (did I just say that Azed is on the spectrum??). Didn’t find myself drowning in Chambers as much as dabbling. A question for readers: when should an archaic usage be indicated and when is it acceptable not to do so? Azed seems to be ambivalent.
Independent 1340 by Poins
A straightforward Sunday puzzle. Thank you Poins.
Guardian Prize 26711 by Shed
A very straightforward puzzle with no theme this week.