Posted by scchua on 31st October 2011
We find an unexpected Brendan for today’s crossword, and which is also a bit harder (especially the SE corner) than the usual start to the week. Perhaps there is something going on….
Posted in Guardian | 46 Comments »
Posted by Pierre on 31st October 2011
Posted in Guardian Quiptic | 3 Comments »
Posted by NealH on 31st October 2011
*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone, CD=cryptic def, DD=double def, sp=spoonerism
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Posted in Independent | 11 Comments »
Posted by Simon Harris on 30th October 2011
A very challenging week, though typically not short on quality from Beelzebub. 15ac is this week’s challenge for readers to explain.
Posted in Beelzebub | 2 Comments »
Posted by Simon Harris on 30th October 2011
Apologies for the slightly tardy post – it has been a long and busy week. And so it may just have been me being preoccupied by starting a new job the following day, but this seemed like a fairly stiff challenge at first. After a second solving session a few days later, I did manage to finish things off.
Posted in Independent | 4 Comments »
Posted by The Trafites on 30th October 2011
Posted in Everyman | 4 Comments »
Posted by duncanshiell on 30th October 2011
AZED has been compiling the Sunday barred crossword in The Observer for nearly 40 years and he continues to create a consistently challenging standard of puzzle.
Posted in Azed | 3 Comments »
Posted by mc_rapper67 on 29th October 2011
This was just a masterpiece of a straight good-old fashioned cryptic crossword puzzle – no themes, ninas, linked clues – just some wonderful surface readings, diversions, and plenty of self-contained ‘stories within clues’. In my opinion, you coud pick this up, drop it on the (inside) back page of the Grauniad and stick ‘Araucaria’ under it…
Posted in Independent | 11 Comments »
Posted by mc_rapper67 on 29th October 2011
This was a rather fun, um, ‘probléme’ to solve, and I can only say, erm, ‘bon mots’ about it. The preamble refers to six thematic, undefined answers which, combined with a quotation made up of superfluous letters – or words – in other clues, would suggest a solution to the problem implied by the six, and enable the deduction of the unclued middle row. Got that? Then let’s, er, ‘commencer’…
Posted in Enigmatic Variations | No Comments »
Posted by PeeDee on 29th October 2011
I don’t think I have blogged Bonxie before, I found this one enjoyable and a nice level of difficulty, not too hard or too easy. Lots of colours in the answers, but not enough to count as a theme.
Posted in Guardian | 29 Comments »
Posted by Ali on 28th October 2011
Great stuff as always from the ever dependable Phi. Pretty tough in places, but all clues as sound as a pound. I can’t see anything hidden in the grid, though its shape suggests there might be something going on.
Posted in Independent | 27 Comments »
Posted by Gaufrid on 28th October 2011
This would have been a very quick solve had I not confidently entered ‘track’ at 12ac on my first pass through the clues only to change it to ‘trace’ when I solved 3dn. Still wrong as 1dn then proved to be impossible so it was time to think again. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in FT | 6 Comments »
Posted by Andrew on 28th October 2011
A very enjoyable puzzle from Crucible with a number of answers (asterisked below – let me know if I’ve missed any) related to the phrase at 4,6. Not too difficult, but there are some unusual constructions in the clues, and perhaps one or two obscurities in the wordplay.
Posted in Guardian | 30 Comments »
Posted by John on 27th October 2011
Some excellent clues in a very nice crossword today from Tees. One or two of them I couldn’t understand properly but I suspect that as usual all will be made clear.
Posted in Independent | 21 Comments »
Posted by manehi on 27th October 2011
I’d not heard of the long (53 letter!) solution to 16 et al, but managed to fill it in at the end. Impressive as it is to fit such a long phrase into the grid, it left me feeling that I didn’t quite get a whole crossword’s worth of clues – a pity, with some very nice cluing elsewhere. My favourites were 1d, 10a and 19d. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Guardian | 41 Comments »
