Guardian 24,397/Shed (Sat 24 May) – In the pink
Solving time: 28:00, over half of which on 1dn, 10ac and 15ac. I had a good start on this, stalled a little in the middle until I untangled BODICE RIPPER at 22/21dn, and … Read more >>
Month: May 2008
Independent 6741/Nimrod
Ran into a brick wall about halfway through this one and then spotted the Nina (referenced in 9), which got things moving again. Still don’t understand a few things here and there though. … Read more >>
Independent 6,746/Phi
I struggled to get going with this, only solving one of the Across clues on my first pass. A few nice, long cryptic definitions eventually got the ball rolling and everything else then … Read more >>
Financial Times no. 12,781 set by SATORI
Not too troublesome today – one or two pleasing clues with a few rather obvious ones. ACROSS 1. TAFFRAIL – <fat-frail (upper part of the stern of a ship) 5. STASIS – dd. … Read more >>
Guardian 24,402 (Gordius)
Across 1 DECIDED: CID in DEED 5 DELIBES: DLIBErateS without rate. Refers to Leo Delibes the French romantic composer 10 NEWCASTLE: anagram of LEWES CANT 11 OFF WITH HIS HEAD: from Lewis Carroll’s … Read more >>
Inquisitor #73 METAMORPHOSIS by Dysart
A nice twist in a crossword with conventional clues (no misprints, extra words etc. to muddy the waters). The puzzle was made more difficult by the fact that I found the clues in … Read more >>
Guardian 24,401 – Brendan
My chronic lack of geographical knowledge slowed me down quite a bit in this puzzle with lots of varied and often rather clever uses of “capital”, both in definitions and wordplay. On reflection, … Read more >>
Independent 6745/Scorpion
I found this easier than usual for this setter but there are still a few bits and pieces that I don’t understand. Across 1 (STOUT MUSCULAR)* – interestingly, this could have been CUMULOSTRATUS … Read more >>
Independent on Sunday 954 by Quixote (25 May 2008)
Solving time, 22 mins. * = anagram < = reversal ACROSS 5 A WARD’S Maybe not exclusively an urban district, but usually so. 7 SLE EVE (eve Els)< If golfer Ernie Els could … Read more >>
Financial Times 12,780 – Flimsy
Just a reminder about the common abbreviations that I use *() = anagram (fodder) cd = cryptic definition dd = double definition ha = hidden answer ins = insertion cha = charade Two … Read more >>
Financial Times 12,771 – Dante
This is another easily solved prize puzzle (from Monday 19 May 2008) with many anagram clues and cryptic definitions ala Dante. I suppose it is a less stressful way to begin a week … Read more >>
Financial Times 12,770 by Falcon (As Easy As Pi?)
A mostly easy but excellent puzzle from Falcon with one clue (3D), the wordplay of which I failed to fully fathom. 21A was tricky because while I am familiar with expressions “as easy … Read more >>
FT 12.779/ Cinephile
I didn’t detect any over-arching theme in this puzzle, although the appearance of the word NINA in the sixth column could well mean that I’m missing something. Across 1 HUM,MIN(GB,IR)D 9 W,OR,SE – … Read more >>
Independent 6744 by Radian
An excellent themed puzzle by Radian, timed, I expect, to coincide with Sebastian Faulks’ new James Bond book on the centenary of Ian Fleming’s birth, I think. I got the theme almost instantly … Read more >>
Guardian 24,400 – Pasquale
Common abbreviations used dd = double definition cd = cryptic definition ha = hidden answer rev = reversed or reversal cha = charade ins = insertion After my baptism of fire with The … Read more >>