*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed

An excellent mix of clues from Punk as usual, with some relatively easy and some quite difficult.   I had a couple of goes at completing it – got most of the way through this morning but had to come back and finish it this evening. Read the rest of this entry »

A typically pleasant Monday puzzle from Rufus with at least two classy clues (15d and 24a). I still don’t understand why we must always get an easy puzzle on Monday. There’s always the simpler crossword in the Guardian supplement and you can always borrow or steal a copy of “The Telegraph” if all else fails. 

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Another crossword where the last answer (correctly) written in is the first clue you look at, i.e. 1A or equivalent. This seems to have been happening to me a lot recently. Is it just that these instances and more memorable? Are setters purposely making 1A clues harder than the rest? Or is it simply that my brain is less in tune with cryptic thinking, more easily misled or fixated, early on in a solving session? Read the rest of this entry »