Gemelo, in association with The Observer, plans to start offering a monthly clue-writing competition early in 2027.
Inquisitor 1984: Horrors by eXternal
Always a pleasure to see eXternal – this is his third of the year.
Financial Times 18528 Artexlen
Thank you to Artexlen. Definitions are underlined in the clues.
Guardian 30,160: Anto
Thanks to Anto for today’s puzzle, from which I learned a photographic term and a Mafia-related definition
Spectator 2,775 – Small Fragments
A couple of parsings defeated me in this puzzle.
Financial Times 18,527 by PETO
PETO kicks off the week…
Guardian Cryptic crossword No 30,159 by Carpathian
The original puzzle may be found here.
Financial Times 15,526 by JULIUS
Puzzle from the Weekend FT of November 7, 2026 Link to puzzle: https://www.ft.com/content/5beb51eb-e18c-4b06-b490-1a897e349fb2 Degree of difficulty: Moderately-easy A very fair test: just right for a Saturday when there might be some solvers who … Read more >>
Azed No. 2,785
Sincere apologies for the late blog.
Guardian Quiptic 1,407/Pangakupu
I am still slightly glum about the loss of the Independent daily cryptic from the paper. Pangakupu’s alter ego Phi was a regular Friday contributor to that series of puzzles, so I cheered up when my first Quiptic blog after that loss turned out to be one from our New Zealand based setter.
Everyman 4,176
A good sound Everyman which I found a bit easier than usual. Often I get hung up on some answer, but not in this case. All the usual Everyman trademarks are there and are coloured in the diagram.
Definitions in crimson, underlined. Indicators (homophone, hidden, containment, anagram, juxtaposition, etc) in italics. Anagrams indicated *(like this) or (like this)*. Link-words in green. Homophones indicated “like this” and deletions [like this].
Guardian Quick Cryptic 136 by Dice
This week’s 11 x 11 crossword from the Guardian intended to teach cryptic crosswords, found here
Guardian Saturday Prize Crossword 30,152 by Brockwell (31 October 2026)
25A looks to be the key to this Brockwell Prize Puzzle, with several cross-references to it amongst the other clues…
Listener No 4942 Jet Wheels by Almasti
Almasti is a relatively new Listener setter. We saw his first in 2024 on the subject of Morris dancing.
Guardian Cryptic 30,157 by Paul
The puzzle is available to solve online or download here.