Everyman 3175/Gretna
Nice to be welcomed by a fairly straightforward puzzle to ease myself back into cryptic solving – having been on a diet of Les Mots Croises for the past couple of weeks. Scotland … Read more >>
Month: August 2007
Guardian 24,147 (Sat 4 Aug)/Taupi – Lowlights
Solving time: 10:16 A really good puzzle this week and much more accurate than normal for the Guardian, with some very elegant clues and clever definitions. Should have been faster but for ‘phenomenal’ … Read more >>
Inquisitor 31 – On a swim by Kruger
Solving time: ages! The only previous Kruger puzzle I remember was about No. 6 in the Inquisitor series, based on the Offa’s Dyke footpath and associated places – one that I found pretty … Read more >>
Independent 6495 by Phi
Tough: Solving time: 34 mins * = anag < = reversed ACROSS 1 DE (BRIe) EF Feed< 5 POL(IT)ICe 9 FR (l)ITTERED Excellent 10 Oliver TWIST Ditto 12 BOS (TO)NIAN 25 LEV (IATH) … Read more >>
Guardian 24152/Puck – breezy
Not the easiest puzzle to return to from France. Puck and Paul must have gone to the same school of cryptic wizardry if their senses of humor are anything to go by. The … Read more >>
Independent 6490/Phi (04-08-07)
Across 1 PIP in BLOWE(r) 5 TOLD,DO – not a phrase I’d ever come across before but not a tricky one to get from the wordplay. 9 (TELE(-v)ISED)* 10 SILVER – SLIVER with … Read more >>
Financial Times 12,533/Sleuth
My first Sleuth puzzle but I’ve solved a few by the same setter as Hypnos in the Independent. This was a reasonably gentle solve with some nice touches here and there. One query … Read more >>
Beelzebub/Columba 911 29-07-07
The Beelzebub puzzle, published in the magazine section of the Independent on Sunday, is currently set by two setters: Phi does three a month and Columba does one. Columba used to be a … Read more >>
Independent on Sunday by Quixote 912
The usual excellent offering by Quixote. Solving time: 20 mins * = anagram < = reversed ACROSS 1 COUSCOUS Cousin “less in” “repeatedly” “On account of” seems to be a link, which is … Read more >>
Guardian 24,151, Gordius: Dulcinea of Patmos
Apologies for late posting. I’ve been off work, but looking after my 11-month old niece who has asthma and chicken-pox, which didn’t seem to leave much time for blogging – now I remember … Read more >>
FT 12,532/Orense – Feeling a little peaky
One for the orologists today, as the eight clues that lack definition (denoted with an asterisk below) are all mountains. I had to take a guess at 24D to finish the grid – … Read more >>
Independent 6494/Nimrod
I managed most of this pretty quickly but there were two answers (10A and 3D) that I filled in because I don’t like leaving blank spaces and these were the only words I … Read more >>
FT 12531 / Gozo – Top Banana
SOLVING TIME: 24 MINUTES Apologies for the late posting. A very clever puzzle from Gozo, reminiscent of Araucaria, with some good clueing, although a couple of queries. There seems to be an ambiguity … Read more >>
Financial Times 12,522 by Cincinnus
Another beauty from Cincinnus. Across 1. ARTIST – anagram of TRAITS with slightly cryptic definition 4. SCOTTIES – SCOT + TIES 9. CIGAR – C.I. + GAR (fish) 10 BANKROLLS – BANK on … Read more >>
Guardian 24150 Araucaria Party Time
Across 1 POSTGRAD G(ood) substituted for the ‘e’ in Poster, being one of the two advertisements, the other being ‘ad. 5 Not being interested in football I thought long and hard about Ferdinand … Read more >>