Posted by ilancaron on 25th January 2007
A puzzle about the tube from Araucaria that probably could be done on the tube. Not all the lines showed up but at least my favorite did (the District, which is what I took to school every morning: Earl’s Court to Ravenscourt Park).
Posted in Guardian | 2 Comments »
Posted by nmsindy on 24th January 2007
This had all I’ve come to expect from Dac. Excellent flowing surface readings, clever misdirection, a very satisfying solve, with all understood in the end. A bit tougher than usual, maybe partly because of one long phrase others may have been more familiar with than I was.
Posted in Independent | No Comments »
Posted by michod on 24th January 2007
A puzzle with an overt theme, rather than one to be deduced, which gives a good illustration of the many different uses of ‘doctor’ in a puzzle. All the across clues and a couple of the downs contain the word. I counted four DRs, an MO and an MB, one anagram indicator, two or three types of doctor, four named doctors and several other clues in which doctor was part of the definition. Help welcomed with 15Ac and 19dn.
Posted in Guardian | 5 Comments »
Posted by Colin Blackburn on 23rd January 2007
After two weeks away from the UK with no daily crosswords I found this one a real struggle after the halfway mark. A few obscure words and some weak devices left me having to check dictionaries to confirm answers and follow the word play. I usually only comment on around half the clues in a puzzle but in this case I’ve commented on all but a handful of straightforward clues. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Guardian | 7 Comments »
Posted by tilsit on 23rd January 2007
Solving time: 26 minutes
A nautical theme for today’s puzzle with lots of linked answers and clues. This was very much a puzzle of 10 minutes of staring blankly, followed by 16 of furious writing as the answers unfolded. As usual, excellent clueing with one or two nice devices thrown in (19 and 23 across).
Posted in Independent | 5 Comments »
Posted by neildubya on 23rd January 2007
Posted in Announcements | No Comments »
Posted by rightback on 22nd January 2007
Solving time: About 45 mins without Chambers plus about 10 minutes with to check/finish off. One mistake (22ac), two I can’t explain (31ac and 2dn) – offers welcome.
Posted in Azed | 5 Comments »
Posted by linxit on 22nd January 2007
Solving time – about 7 mins
I counted 11 cryptic definitions and 5 double definitions in this puzzle, which seems a bit excessive – and makes it very easy if your brain’s working in the right mode.
Posted in Guardian | 6 Comments »
Posted by neildubya on 22nd January 2007
I found this quite tricky after 4 or 5 clues and couldn’t make any impact at all. Maybe that’s what happens when you try to solve a puzzle at 6.20am. Anyway, once I’d woken up the rest fell into place. Another very entertaining effort from Tees and perfect for a Monday. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Independent | 2 Comments »
Posted by petebiddlecombe on 21st January 2007
Solving time 25:25
A while after his Countdown puzzle, Nimrod gives us another TV puzzle. 9D’s catchphrase, “I don’t believe it” appears in the unchecked letters on the left and right edges of the puzzle. I believe Nimrod wrote the puzzle after some conversation at the Ilkley pub meet in November about One Foot in the Grave, series 4, episode 5, which a BBC website describes thus:
Posted in Independent | No Comments »
Posted by ilancaron on 20th January 2007
Posted in Everyman | 2 Comments »
Posted by neildubya on 20th January 2007
A top-notch puzzle from a setter that, in my opinion, does not appear often enough in the Guardian. Read the rest of this entry »
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Posted by nmsindy on 19th January 2007
Posted in Independent | 3 Comments »
Posted by loonapick on 19th January 2007
This is my first blog entry for a daily Independent crossword, and I got a nice gentle introduction. This was a comparatively easy crossword (10 minutes to solve) with solid clueing and a selection of & lit.clues.Forgive the terseness of this post, but I have already done an Inquisitor post this morning, and I don’t know how much longer I can convince my boss that I am working on year-end figures, rather than crosswords!ACROSS
Posted in Independent | 6 Comments »
Posted by michod on 19th January 2007
A couple of tougher clues, but a pretty standard puzzle really. The bottom right corner held out longest, helped by a typo in 18 down – ell for eel (see below).
Posted in Guardian | 4 Comments »
