Azed 1,817: A rare slip of the pen?
When I made an error in a competition puzzle last year, after failing to confirm a guess in Chambers, Azed was kind enough to drop me a note pointing out my ‘lapsus calami’, with … Read more >>
Month: March 2007
Guardian 24,033/Paul (Sat 24 Mar) – Symphonious
Solving time: 10:36 The ‘same person’ referred to in the preamble is Ludwig van Beethoven: “E 1”, “O 1” and “N 1” refer cryptically to “Beethoven’s 3rd“, “6th” and “9th” symphonies (see 1dn), … Read more >>
Independent 6381 by Phi
After yesterday’s super-difficult Bannsider, this was easier from Phi, with some pleasing clues and all is clear. Solving time: 22 mins * = anagram ACROSS 1 BIRDSEED Excellent cryptic definition punning … Read more >>
Guardian 24038/Arachne – relieved
Solving time: 45′ Nice (comic?) relief from yesterday’s Independent for which I’ve exonerated myself for not knowing Nigella Lawson (she’s probably never heard of me after all). Some clever &lits and overall a … Read more >>
Inquisitor #12/Phi – Cousin R.I.P.
Despite the sombre occasion which inspired the theme of Phi’s puzzle, this was an enjoyable crossword to solve. The clues were not overly complex, and, despite taking an inordinate amount of time to … Read more >>
Independent 6376 / Nimrod – very Nimrod!
A disadvantage of having Sloggers and Betters 2 on a Thursday was that we lost John Henderson (Nimrod and Enigmatist for those who don’t know) to a quiz night – depite being in … Read more >>
Independent on Sunday 893 by Quixote – Quite easy
No particular problem with this one, with the two longest words in the centre coming straightaway from the definitions. Solving time: 12 mins ACROSS 1 P SHAW The playwright George Bernard Shaw 2 … Read more >>
Independent 6380/Bannsider – bruising
Solving time: 59′ (missing two answers) This felt like a fairly hard Times — and I’m going to hazard a guess that Bannsider slums there as well. I spent too much time on … Read more >>
Guardian 24,036/ Gordius: A puzzle of two halves
Can’t really give a time for this – I breezed through the top half in my head between two tube stops, and thought it’d be a breeze, but got bogged down at the … Read more >>
Independent 6379 / Dac – tricky doubleton
Solving time 8:40 About 50% slower than usual for Dac, with most trouble in the NE corner where I couldn’t get ‘Bye Bye’ out of my head for 6A, or quite understand 8D. … Read more >>
Guardian 24035/Logodaedalus
Solving time: roughly 15 mins in total, although work intervened a few times. It’s the first time I’ve solved a Logodaedalus puzzle, so I didn’t know what to expect. This one seemed quite … Read more >>
Independent 6378 by Virgilius – Deadly
After 7 days of the Lenten season last week, this time Virgilius gives us the 7 deadly sins, familiar (in theory, of course) to most, I’m sure. This made it an easy puzzle, … Read more >>
Not about crosswords…
You may notice that the service we provide is a bit irregular over the next couple of weeks. This is because Mrs Dubya yesterday gave birth to our first child, a week early. … Read more >>
Independent 6377 by Tees – Four Seasons
I was sure it wasn’t me today. I was absolutely sure. I just checked to see if whoever it was had posted yet and thought I’d just see who it was when they … Read more >>
Everyman 3155/Mar 18
At first I thought there might be a King Lear theme since he showed up along with one of his daughters. But then it petered out. 25A (TELAMON) was new to me and … Read more >>