Financial Times 13,012 / Sleuth
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 >>
Day: 27 February 2009
Beelzebub 992 (22/02/09)
*=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 >>
Independent 6979 – Phi
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 >>
Independent 6974/Nestor (Prize puzzle 21-02-09)
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 >>
Guardian 24,634/Arachne
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 >>
Inquisitor 112 Bottoms Up by Loda
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 >>
Enigmatic Variations 850: Bells by Gioconda
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 >>