A puzzle in the familiar, pleasing, Quixote, style – aimed, I’d say, at being as easy by the general standards of Indy difficulty.    Solving time, 17 mins which is v fast for me.

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Thanks Rufus for another trademark puzzle with double definitions, cryptic definitions and not-so-long anagrams to the fore (though he holds the record for the longest word – an anagram of 58 letters – used in a published puzzle).  All constructed elegantly and compactly.  Many of the definitions require one to think  of words and phrases in different contexts from the normal ones.  The combination of unusual context and conciseness makes such clues easy to remember and they stay with one for a long time.  Perhaps these should be called “rufuses”, to coin a word.  I was hoping it would be him on my schedule today, and it is.  Knowing that you sometimes read and post on 15sq, this is for you, Rufus/Roger – a happy 80th in 2 days’ time, with best wishes for many more happy years and crosswords to come.  Thank you for stretching our minds, enjoyably, all these years.  And you must show me again that card trick you did in Derby! 

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A quick check reveals that this is the first Beale I’ve had to blog, and this little baby didn’t lie down to sleep without a bit of a fight …

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Which Odd couple is Cyclops alluding to I wonder: Cameron and Idi Amin? Al Capone and Robin Hood?

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