Independent 6,948/Nestor
This seemed to be one of those days where I filled in a lot of answers without fully understanding them. Some will hopefully become clear as I blog, but there’ll no doubt be … Read more >>
Month: January 2009
Financial Times 12,981 / Sleuth
Not a lot to say about this one. One minor quibble (16a), a few neat clues but nothing that really stands out. . . . . . Across 1 INCOME IN (popular) CO … Read more >>
Guardian 24,603/Araucaria
A themed puzzle from Araucaria, with 13 wordplay-only clues for capital cities (highlighted in blue below). I caught on to the theme early on by a lucky guess at PRAGUE, but still found … Read more >>
Independent on Sunday 988 by Quixote (18 Jan 2009)
I found this quite easy. Some answers that were new to me I worked out from the friendly wordplay. Solving time, 13 mins. * = anagram < = reversed ACROSS 1 HE CATOMB … Read more >>
Financial Times 12,972 – Mudd
Monday Prize Crossword on 12 January 2009 dd = double definition cd = cryptic definition rev = reversed or reversal ins = insertion cha = charade ha = hidden answer *(fodder) = anagram … Read more >>
Financial Times 12,971 by Cincinnus
Prize puzzle from the Weekend FT of January 10 A few minor challenges here made a typically enjoyable puzzle. Cincinnus came up with some great anagrams for the long downers. (Yeah, I know … Read more >>
Independent 6947/Dac
An unusually tricky Dac today. I don’t remember ever, in one of his crosswords, making so many marks by clues reminding me to look things up afterwards. This does not itself reflect on … Read more >>
Financial Times 12,980 / Aardvark
This was similar in a way to the Aardvark I blogged two weeks ago including some ‘different’ indicators, a couple of which I would question, as indicated below, though these didn’t impede the solving … Read more >>
Guardian 24,602 – Paul
Another toughie from Paul. The theme was enjoyable for a film buff, but a few clues didn’t quite sound right for me. The only solution I couldn’t explain was 22D, but the answer … Read more >>
Independent 6,946 by Radian
*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone, cd=cryptic definition, dd=double definition. Hands up who didn’t foresee a presidential-themed crossword for today? I do tend to enjoy Radian’s outings, and this was no exception. Pretty easy overall, … Read more >>
Financial Times 12,979 / Jason
A minor theme relating to bugs runs through this crossword. These clues are Across 1 HORNET – H, OR, net 15 LOCUST – lo(Cu)st 21 MANTIS – man, rev. of ‘sit’ 31 CICADA … Read more >>
Guardian 24,601 – Rover
dd = double definition cd = cryptic definition rev = reversed or reversal ins = insertion cha = charade ha = hidden answer *(fodder) = anagram Not at all a difficult puzzle although … Read more >>
Guardian 24600 / Rufus
Apologies for this being a bit late today; I’d forgotten that I was supposed to be doing the post today. There are a couple of questions below that people can easily clear up, … Read more >>
Independent 6945 by Monk
*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone I found this extremely tough and struggled to get going. Repeatedly misreading 20 down as “hackneyed phrase” didn’t help. However, all the answers made sense to me. Across 1 … Read more >>
Private Eye/Cyclops 382 – Gentle start
A gentle start to 2009. Nothing here held me up – which is just as well as my accountant tells me I’m supposed to be preparing my tax return right now. I don’t … Read more >>