Financial Times 12,986 / Cinephile
A definite challenge today due to the Oxford College theme and some unfamiliar words. I found it difficult to get into the puzzle until the significance of ‘OC’ emerged and 7a/8d held me … Read more >>
Month: January 2009
Guardian 24608 / Orlando
This was a nice fun puzzle to do – we found this unusually fast to do, and finished it off without needing to resort to external help (which makes a pleasant change :)) … Read more >>
Independent 6952/Virgilius
The usual nice Virgilius today, but I sense that some of it is passing me by. There was a sinking feeling as I stared at it, quite sure that the usual devilish Virgilius … Read more >>
Guardian 24,607 – Paul
dd = double definition cd = cryptic definition rev = reversed or reversal ins = insertion cha = charade ha = hidden answer *(fodder) = anagram I am so glad I took time … Read more >>
Financial Times 12985 / Adamant
Easy-peasy, with too many anagrams and partial anagrams. A crossword that runs on predictable lines. No clue except 1d excited me. Across 1 PARAKEET – anag of KEPT AREA 5 CAUCUS – anag … Read more >>
Independent 6951 by Punk
*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone An enjoyable puzzle that didn’t require vast amounts of general knowledge. There were some excellent surface definitions that appeared utterly bewildering at first glance (particularly 21 down). Across 9 … Read more >>
Guardian 24,606 (Rufus)
A nice easy start to the week with some of the down clues proving just a tad more difficult Across 9 BY NO MEANS: anagram of MANY BONES 10 IDAHO: anagram of AID … Read more >>
Azed 1912 – Happy New Chambers
I found this mostly a little below average difficulty, but I think there’s an ambiguity in 1ac and a mistake in the wordplay of 13ac. This is the first Azed where the recommended … Read more >>
Guardian 24,599 (Sat 17 Jan)/Araucaria – Auf Wiedersehen Monty
Solving time: 11:45 A sports mini-theme this week, with QUESTION[s] OF SPORT including ANYONE FOR TENNIS, APPEAL and HOW’S THAT. I found this about medium difficulty with some nice clues but one or … Read more >>
Independent 6,944 by Phi (Saturday Prize Puzzle, 17/01/09)
*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone, cd=cryptic definition, dd=double definition. Apologies if this is a bit later than is customary – I’m just here as emergency cover today. There was a certain amount of brain-racking … Read more >>
Independent 6949 by Phi
I found this very difficult, solving time 46 mins. Thought this was maybe to accommodate a Nina, but so far , despite WAYNE being in the bottom row, all I can see is … Read more >>
Inquisitor 107 – Syndrome by Loda
Solving time: not applicable! I’d started this puzzle and then left it for a bit with theme undiscovered, when another Inquisitor blogger forwarded me an e-mail about it. This gave away a good … Read more >>
Guardian 24,604 / Enigmatist
I really enjoyed this one and learned a couple of new words, which is always good. Getting most of the long clues early on gave me a good start but there are one or … Read more >>
FT 12,982/Falcon – Bottoms Up!
To be honest, there was little in this puzzle to get my juices flowing. Too much a sense of simply “going through the motions” in this one. Just hope everyone is well-versed on … Read more >>
Enigmatic Variations No. 845 – Pros by Warbler
We were told that 8 answers had been affected by a quotation in ODQ, and its author, which ran clockwise round the perimeter plus 3 squares in row 2 (see below). The quotation … Read more >>