Posted by NealH on 31st March 2008
* = anag, < = reversed, () = dropped
A moderately difficult puzzle with a couple of excellent clues in 3 and 22 dn. There was one I didn’t quite follow (12 down). Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Independent | 6 Comments »
Posted by manehi on 31st March 2008
Mostly straightforward from Brendan today, some easy anagrams and a couple of hidden words – I was racing towards one of my quicker times until I ran into 2 down.
Posted in Guardian | 6 Comments »
Posted by tilsit on 30th March 2008
Solving Time: 55 minutes (with assistance on two clues from the wonderful Eric)
Posted in Azed | 5 Comments »
Posted by beermagnet on 30th March 2008
| Across | |
|---|---|
| 1 | OFFBEAT OFF-BEAT I liked “copper back in the station” |
| 5 | ODD FISH Perch is a FISH, and 3 is an ODD number, and John Redwood is … |
| 10 | BLOOD MONEY M-ONE (chief of Manchester United) inside BLOODY (bleeding) |
| 11 | NAVY V[ery] inside NAY – I think. Originally I was thinking vaguely of an old warmonger who gained a reputation for use of the cat, but there was no Admiral Nay that I can find – I must’ve been conflating Marshal Ney. So how does this work? Full clue: Sailors strapping chap, very taken (4) Dan points out that the “strapping chap” is a NAVVY and the V[ery] has been taken away. |
| 12 | EMINENCE EMINE[m] N[elly] C (hundred) E(uros) |
| 13 | REEFER REEF (spit) ER (Brenda) |
| 14 | BOSS DD |
| 16 | CRUMPET RUMP inside (ETC)* |
| 18 | ISTHMUS (SHIT)* (SUM)< |
| 21 | ROWS Homophone “Woes” when Jonathan Ross says it |
| 23 | WALLOP WA (Washington state abbr.) (POLL)< Here we go again equating decent ale with piss. The many pints of wallop I’ve had have been brilliant! |
| 24 | THE QUEEN T[ickle] HE (male) QUEEN (homosexual) HRH getting a name-check that isn’t Brenda for a change |
| 26 | SHOE O (ball) inside SHE (female) I’m not sure if the final question mark is necessary. |
| 27 | CHECK DIGIT Couple of good offbeat definitions. Full clue: Examine member – it might get stuck into a PC (5,5) |
| 28 | SMUGGLE MUG (dick) inside (LEGS)* |
| 29 | CRUNCHY C (about) R[a]UNCHY |
| Down | |
| 2 | FULL MOON DD |
| 4 | ALMANAC AL (Gore) M[onica] AN (one) AC (Bill) |
| 6 | DAY TRIP (Robin) DAY TRIP (error) |
| 7 | FAN LETTER A[ct] N[ervously] L[egs] inside FETTER This was a close second for the favourite clue: Starts to act nervously, legs in shackle, enveloped by admirer? (3,6) |
| 8 | SOVIET VIE (compete) inside SOT (drunk). This was the last I put in. I was misled by “drunk” to try anagrams of “old Russian” etc. but it’s a solid answer once you know it. As a result I’ll give it the favourite clue award. Full clue: Compete – but hemmed in by drunk old Russian (6) |
| 9/3 | KNEES UP MOTHER BROWN KNEES UP (party) MOTHER (mum) BROWN (PM) On first sight of this crossword I went straight to this long answer and it was apparent immediately. The “mum” = “mother” part was a complete give-away for me. |
| 15 | SPIELBERG SPIEL (pitch) (B[UG]GER)* UG = “what caveman said”. I wonder if Spielberg will ever do a caveman pic? It’d be much better than the latest offering, 10,000 B.C., whose release was timed to coincide with this clue. The clue is far better than the movie. |
| 17 | SWEETISH S[ulphur] WEE (SHIT)* Two anagrams of shit in one crossy and neither making “this” – that’s OK by me |
| 19 | TOPICAL TOP (bust) [mon]ICA [bil]L Yet another ref. to Clinton+Lewinsky – I think this one’s getting long in the tooth now |
| 20 | SPEAKER S (second) PEAK (climax) ER (Brenda) |
| 22 | MAYHEM (Dr Brian) MAY HEM (“bit of skirt”) Ref. the well-known astrophysicist, OBE and Chancellor of Liverpool Uni. who plays a bit of guitar as well |
| 25 | UNION CD |
Posted in Private Eye/Cyclops | 2 Comments »
Posted by rightback on 30th March 2008
Solving time: About 40 minutes (interrupted); two wrong (30ac and 44dn), one missing (42dn)
Posted in Guardian | 7 Comments »
Posted by tilsit on 28th March 2008
Solving time: 29 minutes
I found it quite a challenge today and a suitable warm-up for the new Listener due in a wee while. Am a bit baffled about parsing 9 down, my guess is shown, but I think I’m wide of the mark.
Posted in Independent | 1 Comment »
Posted by neildubya on 28th March 2008
4/14 provided the theme for this enjoyable puzzle, which I found a bit tougher than usual for this setter. What’s a bit strange though is that I count 13 men’s names in the grid: LUKE, JOHN, EDDIE, NICHOLAS, BASIL, ANDREW, JAMES, GEORGE, DAVID, PAUL, PETER, LAWRENCE and MARK. Which makes me wonder if I’ve got one of them wrong…? [Edit: as eimi points out below, Eddie is not a thematic answer as the other twelve are all saints] Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Independent | 5 Comments »
Posted by diagacht on 28th March 2008
| Across | |
|---|---|
| 1 | RIDICULE: CID (reversed) in RULE containing I |
| 9 | ANIMUS: NIM (old game) in AUS |
| 10 | AGATHA: AA aroung GATH (gun) |
| 11 | HIGH JUMP: a field event and what the doomed man is in for |
| 13 | MARASCHINO: anagram of O (old) + CHAIRS + MAN |
| 15 | REVAMPS: AVER (reversed) + MPS |
| 16 | TRIBADE: IB (I was expecting ‘ibid’) in TRADE |
| 18 | CHAUCERIAN: CHAN (as in Jackie Chan) around AIR + ECU (reversed); the ecu was a form of european currency |
| 19 | TOYS: being TOnYS without the N; reference is to the Antoinette Perry Awards for Theatre |
| 20 | ENTANGLE: E + NT (books) + ANGLE |
| 22 | BREWER: B (bishop) + RR (right revd, therefore bishop) around EWE |
| 23 | SELECT: SECT around EL (Chicago Elevated Train) |
| Down | |
| 1 | RINGS THE CHANGES: anagram of GINS GRETCHEN HAS |
| 2 | TINTINNABULATES: 1 part 1 is ring, the definition; TINTIN (cub reporter) + NATES (buttocks) around ABUL (as in ABdUL without the d, the heart). This was the last clue I filled in. |
| 3 | SUGAR MAPLE: MAGUS (reversed) around R + APLE (hollow ApPLE) |
| 4 | LECHERY: LEERY around CH (Order of the Companions of Honour) |
| 6 | SIR JOHN BETJEMAN: anagram of HM JESTER IN BANJO |
| 7 | SUMMONED BY BELLS: as in Betjeman’s autobiography and Pavlov’s experiment |
| 14 | SPINGBUCK: SPRING BUCK (more usually springbok) |
| 17 | DIVERSE: VID (reversed and shortened form of video) + ERSE (language of lowland Scots) |
Posted in Guardian | 15 Comments »
Posted by Hihoba on 28th March 2008
Excellent crossword! Quite testing and certainly fun, with enough continuous progress to keep you interested.
Posted in Inquisitor | 1 Comment »
Posted by petebiddlecombe on 28th March 2008
Just a quick reminder that some of us are gathering for another pub & grub session next Friday.
Posted in Announcements | No Comments »
Posted by nmsindy on 27th March 2008
Slowed up by 7 down which was new to me and had to look for help even when I’d all the crossing letters and knew it was an anagram. Solving time, 25 mins.
Posted in Independent | No Comments »
Posted by neildubya on 27th March 2008
| Across | |
|---|---|
| 1 | (TURN TAIL HOME VIA)* – ITALIAN VERMOUTH, otherwise known as IT as in “Gin and It”. But how can “orbital” be an anagram indicator? |
| 9 | RY in TON – not difficult given the definition “test clothes” but I didn’t understand why “style” was TON until I looked it up. |
| 10 | T,W (AFTER [-n]OO[-n])* – TWO FOR TEA. Mostly an &lit, although “no names” only works in the cryptic reading I think. |
| 11 | EQUUS – Peter Shaffer’s play about a boy who has “issues” with horses. |
| 12 | RUGBY BALL – the clue refers to 15 but it’s nothing to do with the answer at 15a as there are 15 players in an RU side. |
| 13 | (THIS GREY E)* – EYES RIGHT. |
| 15 | BOLUS – which is a “mass” but I don’t understand “heading for the pit”. |
| 18 | (VOICES DID)* – VIDEO DISC. |
| 24 | POT OF GOLD – got this from the definition as the wordplay is lost on me: “Rainbow’s end/coq-au-vin/corporation?” (setter’s italics). OR is “gold” but that’s all I can work out. Also, what happened to the idea of the surface reading of a clue making at least some sense? |
| 25 | BATIK – had to use the Reveal button to get this, another one I don’t get: “Dyed fabric article with which kitbag’s two thirds filled up”. |
| 26 | TWENTY-FOUR SEVEN – 24(a) is where you’ll find POT OF GOLD and 7(d) is ULTRA (“extremely”). |
| Down | |
| 1 | (I TEMPT NEON LIGHT)* – IN THE MELTING-POT. |
| 3 | INN IS FREE – a reference to the Yeats poem “The Lake Isle of Innisfree”. |
| 5 | (LEG AND TOE)* – ELONGATED. Why could “and” appear in the clue instead of “&”? |
| 7 | hidden in “adULT RAcy” |
| 16 | (TOILET VIM)* – LEITMOTIV. |
| 20 | SETAE – another one where I had to “Reveal” and which I don’t understand: “Stalks top-class babe, just looking at rear!”. |
| 22 | (HAD US)* – SADHU. |
Posted in Independent | 11 Comments »
Posted by Colin Blackburn on 27th March 2008
A fairly straightforward puzzle with a small amount of word play en clair. There were a couple of tougher clues in here too. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Guardian | 15 Comments »
Posted by diagacht on 27th March 2008
| Across | |
|---|---|
| 1 | LAST WORD: &Lit |
| 5 | ABIDES: AB (sailor) + IDES (fateful date) |
| 9 | BUTTER UP: BUTTERcUP without the ‘c’ (top of carpel) |
| 10 | TISSUE: anagram of SUITES |
| 13 | DISCARDED: DISC + anagram of DREAD |
| 14 | MORSEL: MORSE (detective) + L |
| 16 | OKINAWA: O (duck) + KIN (family) + AWA (nearly away, as in left) |
| 18 | IN DEPTH: IN (trendy) + DEPT (department) + H (leading Hounslow) |
| 22 | ASCERTAIN: AS CERTAIN |
| 23 | TIGER: TIER (row) about G (first of games) |
| 24 | TURBOT: TURBO (boost) + T (time) |
| 25 | PALETOTS: PALE (anaemic) + TOTS (little kids) |
| 26 | RASCAL: hidden |
| 27 | ATOMISER: anagram of A MOISTER |
| Down | |
| 1 | LIBYAN: LIB (politician) + NAY (reversed) |
| 2 | SETTLE OLD SCORES: which is what one does when looking up Wisden |
| 4 | ROUNDEL: ROUND (patrol) + EL (the French, reversed) |
| 6 | BRIGADIER: anagram of BIG + RAIDER |
| 7 | DISADVANTAGEOUS: anagram of DAVIDS GOT NAUSEA |
| 8 | SPEEDWAY: &Lit |
| 11 | OSLO: hidden |
| 15 | SUPERNOVA: anagram of PROVE A SUN |
| 17 | PILASTER: PLASTER (screed) about I |
| 20 | CONTACT: CON (Tory) + TACT (diplomacy) |
| 21 | ERASER: ERAS (times) + ER (Queen) |
| 23 | THERM: hidden |
Posted in FT | No Comments »
Posted by Pete Maclean on 27th March 2008
Posted in FT | 4 Comments »
