February 2009 – Page 2 – Fifteensquared

Independent 6977 by Dac

Wed February 25, 2009 at 11:54 am by nmsindy

Not too difficult, I found, solving time 22 mins. * = anagram < = reversed ACROSS 1 OPUS hidden 4 Long John SILVER WAR E 10 LE AN-T O Collins confirms it can … Read more >>

Guardian 24632 / Gordius

Wed February 25, 2009 at 10:52 amWed February 25, 2009 at 7:23 am by mhl

A very rushed post today, since I’m about to get on an aeroplane, and I’m afraid that as a result I won’t be able to update it with corrections until much later. There … Read more >>

Independent 6976/Eimi

Tue February 24, 2009 at 12:58 pm by John

One or two that I can’t understand, but plenty of nice clues today. No doubt there is a Nina staring me in the face, but apart from several references to pans and to cakes I … Read more >>

Guardian 24,631 / Paul

Wed February 25, 2009 at 1:40 pmTue February 24, 2009 at 10:56 am by Uncle Yap

dd = double definition cd = cryptic definition rev = reversed or reversal ins = insertion cha = charade ha = hidden answer *(fodder) = anagram Since last week, I have undergone surgery … Read more >>

Financial Times 13009 / Moodim

Tue February 24, 2009 at 6:02 amTue February 24, 2009 at 4:58 am by C G Rishikesh

Across 1 LOSS ADJUSTER – los (sad, just) er 10 NETBALL – n, (ballet)* – Good clue. 11 DIABOLO – anag. of what remains after deleting the letters t, e, n, d, s … Read more >>

Guardian 24630 – Rufus

Mon February 23, 2009 at 3:56 pmMon February 23, 2009 at 1:45 pm by manehi

sorry if this is a bit terse, internet went down at home so am solving/blogging between lectures. I got through this quickly with a few niggles. Liked 18ac. Across 1 DESCRIBE (seed)* around … Read more >>

Independent 6975 by Virgilius

Tue February 24, 2009 at 8:56 amMon February 23, 2009 at 1:31 pm by NealH

*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone, CD=cryptic def A topical, Oscar-themed puzzle which I found quite enjoyable but may not be to the taste of non-film buffs, especially since some of the films referenced were … Read more >>

Azed 1916/who is Aled J?

Sun February 22, 2009 at 1:53 pmSun February 22, 2009 at 12:01 am by ilancaron

A typical Azed outing involving quality time with The Big Red Book: a couple of wordplays still to be decoded and the requisite mystery clue. Thanks to Andrew all is clear now! Across … Read more >>

Guardian 24,623/Paul

Sat February 21, 2009 at 3:54 pmSat February 21, 2009 at 2:58 pm by Andrew

Not, as I’d expected, a St Valentine’s Day special, but a theme based on famous Belgians, of whom there are supposedly very few, though for its size Belgium in fact does pretty well. … Read more >>

Inquisitor 111 – Piano Practice by Nutmeg

Sat February 21, 2009 at 7:17 amFri February 20, 2009 at 8:34 pm by petebiddlecombe

In each row’s pair of answers, one letter moved from one clue to the other, the moving letters giving two words, thematically described by 4 down. There were four unclued downs also matching … Read more >>

Independent 6,973/Phi

Fri February 20, 2009 at 1:02 pm by Ali

A tougher Phi than usual, I thought. A nice easy hidden reversal to start, but I struggled with the rest of the across clues on my first run through. The down clues were … Read more >>

Beelzebub 991 (15/02/09)

Fri February 20, 2009 at 10:30 am by Simon Harding

*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone, cd=cryptic definition, dd=double definition. A good tough one this week, offering us plenty of obscure words with which to conjur. Happily, I still managed to get most of this … Read more >>

Guardian 24,628 / Pasquale

Fri February 20, 2009 at 9:53 am by Eileen

What a delight to see Pasquale back – fully recovered, I hope. There are several slightly unusual words but they are scrupulously well-clued and there are some lovely surface readings. A highly enjoyable … Read more >>

Independent 6968/Phi (Prize puzzle 14-02-09)

Fri February 20, 2009 at 10:08 amFri February 20, 2009 at 9:21 am by neildubya

An excellent themed puzzle for Valentine’s Day where the keyword – HEART – was unclued and appeared, appropriately, in the middle of the grid. Across 8 SA(CRE)D 9 STUN,TM,[-?]AN – not sure what … Read more >>

Enigmatic Variations 849 Dawn by Oxymoron

Fri February 20, 2009 at 7:00 am by Colin Blackburn

Minimal blog crammed in between a busy work week and a holiday. That also means I’ll be unable to comment on comments so mistakes and omissions will go uncorrected. I struggled initially as … Read more >>