Independent 6726/Dac – Elegant stuff
Solving time: 15 mins A nice enjoyable puzzle from one of the Indy’s stable of fine setters. Several really excellent clues including 14 across, 17 down (hope he doesn’t sue!) and 23 across. … Read more >>
Month: May 2008
FINANCIAL TIMES, No.12761 set by MONK
Quite a tricky one and I was stumped by the bones question at 19d. Will await explanations from those more successful. ACROSS 1. ESCALATE-(esc-a late (et al <) 5. AFFAIR (af-f-air) 10. WIDOWER- … Read more >>
Guardian 24382/Araucaria – running true to form
Somehow I was on an Araucarian wavelength today which is unusual for me. But nonetheless I was very grateful in a couple of places for wordplay since the definition was beyond me, e.g. … Read more >>
Guardian 24381 / Taupi Tough but fun
A tough Tuesday workout from the Moleman. Lots of nice clues with terrific surface reading and a good challenge all round. Bit puzzled over the explanation for 18. ACROSS (*) = ANAGRAM, … Read more >>
Independent 6725/Merlin
This was the first time I’ve encountered Merlin, and I found it a stiff (but satisfying) challenge. There were some easy ones which got me started, but I then needed to make a … Read more >>
Financial Times 12,760 / by Quark
Appropriately enough, I gained toehold in the grid with 9 ac. After only some three in this set, I moved to Down segment where many fell quickly, one after the other. I must … Read more >>
Guardian 24,380 (Rufus)
Apologies everyone. I did this crossword yesterday but failed to see that I was on blogging duty. A good but straightforward Rufus! Across 9 ODD NUMBER: &Lit 10 AMEND:MEN in AD 11 GALLANT: … Read more >>
Independent 6724 by Glow-worm
I found this a very unusual crossword, much tougher than usual (perhaps scheduled because of the Bank Holiday). I spent 47 mins at it, but did not solve it, not getting 23 ac … Read more >>
Azed 1874 – A Slip of the Pen
Solving time: just about an hour. Greetings from the Royal Blackburn Hospital. I was flung into here on Tuesday as the old pins were still knackered. Reasonably tough fare from the Observer’s maestro, not … Read more >>
Guardian 24,373 (Sat 26 Apr)/Paul – Know your enemies
Solving time: 8:22 The theme in this crossword was fictional archenemies: those of Batman (The Joker, The Penguin and The Riddler), Harry Potter (Voldemort), Luke Skywalker (Darth Vader), James Bond (Blofeld) and Flash … Read more >>
FINANCIAL TIMES 12757 set by ORENSE
Financial Times 12,757 Set by ORENSE Posted by Octofem on 2nd May 2008 A straight-forward puzzle with a theme of sea creatures running through. My first blog so I am hoping it … Read more >>
Independent 6717/Nestor
One of the things that struck me when I was solving this entertaining puzzle is how heavily my solving “technique” (if that’s not too poncey) involves working off of definitions and checking letters, … Read more >>
Independent 6722 – Phi
A fairly gentle end to the week I thought. The grid seemed quite heavy on the black squares, and there are a number of long answers (most notably 7/3/16/11) which fill a fair … Read more >>
Guardian 24378 – Arachne – Ma is a Ms
Found this really tough going at times, and still can’t work out some of the wordplay. Good puzzle overall though, with a few really nice clues. Across 1 IN CAHOOTS – INCA HOOTS … Read more >>
Inquisitor 69 – Progressive Consumption by Schadenfreude
Solvers were told that nine answers represented a song sequence, in clue order, but with a different and much happier ending. The preamble also stated that the first answer, representing the eventual target, … Read more >>