Independent on Sunday 901 by Quixote
No major problems with this. Solving time: 13 mins * = anagram ACROSS 7 T (OUCH) UP Put = set (reversed). Clever misleading context as the “improve slightly” in the definition has nothing … Read more >>
Month: May 2007
Independent 6428/Math
Across 10 ORATE – the muse for love poetry is Erato so you switch the E and O round to get ORATE. 12 EARLY BIRD – I didn’t know what an “archaeopteryx” was … Read more >>
Guardian 24,085 – Araucaria – always a pleasure
When I opened the Guardian website today to see whose puzzle I’d be blogging, I had that familair sense of unease that comes from seeing the name “Araucaria”. Don’t get me wrong – … Read more >>
Independent 6427/Dac
A quickish and crossword and a quickish blog as I have to get back to finish some work! Not absolutely sure about 15 across so if anyone’s got a better answer or explanation … Read more >>
Guardian 24084/Gordius – middle-aged
Solving time: 25’ Some very slick wordplay here – in many cases I had to think hard and laterally to identify the setter’s devices. In others, I’m still wondering. A few middle-aged complaints … Read more >>
Guardian 24083/Puck — one for the birds
A quick grid fill with some clever clues and some nice inter-linking. I missed the wordplay in a couple but got the answers okay. Across 7,18 THE CAT’S WHISKERS — (CRESS WITH H(orse) … Read more >>
Independent 6426 by Virgilius – Much ado about Nothing- Nothing
Another amazing themed puzzle by this masterly setter. Every across answer contains two successive Os – except for the first and last, which contain another flourish – in the top one the clue … Read more >>
Guardian 24082/Rufus
Solving time: about 7 mins. This was another very easy Monday crossword from Rufus. I liked some of the CDs but had issues with a couple of them (as usual). Still, made a … Read more >>
Independent 6425/Mordred
A fairly straightforward puzzle with generally good word play and some nice surface readings. I made a couple of silly errors in writing in answers which held me up on the last two … Read more >>
Azed 1823 / Outrageous!
Solving Time: around an hour and 15 minutes (in two sittings) Azed’s Monthly puzzle for May was a Plain puzzle with a short word to clue. Finding a starting point is sometimes tricky … Read more >>
Everyman 3163/Tuscany and Fairbanks
Solving time: 20′ Another rather fast solve for me… though spent a couple of minutes at first staring until the first clue (EVITA) succumbed. VP Spiro Agnew shows up again, proving that he’s … Read more >>
Guardian 24,075 (Sat 12 May)/Brummie – Mistaken identity
Solving time: 8:28 This was a lot easier than most Guardian prize crosswords, with few difficult words and the ones there were deduceable from the wordplay. The Guardian Crossword website front page claims … Read more >>
Independent 6423 by Phi – Sumer is icumen in
Harder than usual for Phi – especially because of the title above. Solving time: 34 mins * = anagram ACROSS 1 CUT BOTH WAYS 7 PHI Hidden 12 J zEALOUS 17 MA CU … Read more >>
Independent 6418 / Nimrod – what a carry-on!
Solving time 13:40 Overseas or younger solvers will have struggled with this, but for fans of 50s/60s British comedy, it was a very good solve and full of nostalgia as you’ll see. There … Read more >>
Guardian 24,080 by Taupi: Tea-tastic
A pretty fiendish puzzle. Trying circumstances for me, 10 minutes on a crowded tube followed by 20 over lunch approx, but I found this one very tough going, with a lot of quite advanced tricks. Vocab … Read more >>