Never knowingly undersolved
Solving time: About 15 mins, with 12ac missing and 5dn wrong. About medium difficulty this week; I fell down on the artist at 13ac, in part thanks to an error at 5dn. There’s … Read more >>
A relatively gentle end to the working week. Nothing obscure apart from, possibly, the Spanish poet and dramatist at 24a and the Italian frothy custard at 14d. There was a strong temptation to … Read more >>
*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone, cd=cryptic definition, dd=double definition. This was a welcome distraction on an 11-hour flight to California. I was surprised to manage all but four squares of this one without reference … Read more >>
My first venture into blogging about the Independent, and an enjoyable puzzle to start with! Plenty of good surfaces and not too many unfamiliar words (1dn and 23ac being the only times I … Read more >>
Top-notch puzzle from Nestor which, annoyingly, I was unable to finish. I really should be able to get 3 as it’s only a short word but 6 is more of a mystery. Any … Read more >>
A mostly enjoyable and not-difficult-for-a-Friday puzzle. A couple of strange clues with obscure but irrelevant references (10ac, 7dn) and a couple of weaknesses (18ac,9dn) Key: * = anagram < = reverse (no double … Read more >>
Even more minimal blog as I’m on holiday. I’ve not commented on the clues but as usual Loda’s clues were very good, except 13 where there is either a mistake or I’m missing … Read more >>
Subsidiary indications in 32 clues lead to extra letters which spell out a novel and its author. The remaining ten clues lack definitions and, either alone or paired, are thematic. 22A is a … Read more >>
More enviably entertaining, inventive stuff from Mr Cryptica. There’s plenty to admire here as always, with 21A and 20D being the standouts for me. Across 1 FLIP-FLOP – A pair of double defs … Read more >>
I always enjoy one of the Don’s crosswords and this was no exception. Some clever clues and I particularly liked 28a even though it went in on the first pass. 19a, 22a, 5d, … Read more >>
An interesting theme today, and luckily for me something I managed to guess early on – I suspect it’d be somewhat impenetrable if you can’t guess what BG stands for (I’ve assumed British … Read more >>
I found this trickier than usual, solving time, 26 mins. RHS much harder than LHS * = anagram < = reversed ACROSS 1 SON A TA 4 S (MASH) HIT (this)* 9 O … Read more >>
Monday Prize Crossword on 16 February 2009 dd = double definition cd = cryptic definition rev = reversed or reversal ins = insertion cha = charade ha = hidden answer *(fodder) = anagram … Read more >>
Prize puzzle from the Weekend FT of February 14 I don’t recall coming across Gozo before. I liked having a different sort of puzzle for a change but the nature of it made … Read more >>
Unless my mind if failing me once more it’s been a case of “long time/no see” from Dogberry. Regardless, I found this puzzle typically 25A. Across 1 FORELOCK – cole(rev) in fork. Sounds … Read more >>