Guardian 24104/Puck – Nina
Maybe it’s jet-lag but I found it pretty hard to get into this puzzle. I wonder whether the NINA in the first column of unches is intentional or just my feverish jet-lagged brain. … Read more >>
Month: June 2007
Independent on Sunday 904 by Quixote
I mentioned last week that, in the paper’s relaunch, they’d moved the puzzle away from the penultimate page. Well, there must have been a problem or two, because, this week, if you go … Read more >>
Independent 6446 / Nestor Breathtakingly brilliant!
There are few perks associated with this role, but it’s a real pleasure to comment on a brilliant puzzle every now and then and today is one of those days. Nestor is one … Read more >>
Guardian 24,103, Pasquale: Final answer?
A good, not too difficult puzzle from Pasquale, with two long double-entry clues of 24 letters each making up the perimeter. Both were very clever anag + lits, but such clues present an … Read more >>
Financial Times 12,474 by Cincinnus
Prize puzzle from the Weekend FT of June 2, 2007 This puzzle struck me as a classic Cincinnus, fairly easy but very elegant. Across 1. APPENDIX. Figure it out; it’s lovely. 5, 26. … Read more >>
Independent 6445 by Dac
The normal entertaining, accessible, fare from Dac. Solving time: 16 mins * = anagram ACROSS 1 SU PER rep us all reversed remember rep = traveller less of them than … Read more >>
Guardian 24102/Brendan – flagging a bit!
France United States United Kingdom Norway Solving time approx. 10 minutes Brendan is also Virgilius in the Indy, so I was expecting some thematic content in a reasonably straightforward puzzle – and I … Read more >>
Financial Times 12483/Cinephile
Pretty tough. I haven’t got a convincing answer for 14D, I can’t work out the wordplay for the long clue and I needed Google to get 15D. Across 1 S.E,WAGE – overseas solvers … Read more >>
Coming Soon – New Premises
The crossword solving blog currently here will soon be moving here. As they say, watch this space.
Independent 6444/Virgilius
Always a pleasure to do a Virgilius. Not especially taxing on the obscurity of answers (although 19 was new to me) but inventive and amusing. As indicated in 16/17 there are plenty of … Read more >>
Guardian 24101/Shed
Very enjoyable puzzle from Shed. As you’ll see, there were a few bits and pieces I wasn’t sure about but was still able to make educated guesses thanks to some excellent clueing. Across … Read more >>
FT 12,482/Quark – chaussez les étriers
Solving time : 21 mins approx Solving this crossword at 6pm here in San Francisco was interrupted by, of all things, a Scottish pipe and drum band playing outside my window. Across 1,4 … Read more >>
Guardian 24,100 – Audreus/challenging
This was quite tough for a Monday, with some obscure words mixed in with references to Shakespeare, mythology, ancient alphabets and poetry. All in all, it was enjoyable to solve, and took me … Read more >>
Independent 6443/Mass
The last time I blogged a Mass puzzle I introduced it thus: “A compiler I usually struggle with but not on this occasion. There are some very nice clues in this but a … Read more >>
Guardian 24,093 (Sat 2 Jun)/Araucaria – Mosley harmless
Solving time: 28 minutes for all but 22ac; one other mistake (9ac). I still can’t work out 9ac, for which I entered ‘anivorous’, but I should really have got 22ac, even though I … Read more >>