Everyman 3264
As always, a well-clued easy puzzle particularly suited to newcomers to cryptic crosswords. I have reservations with 6dn in that it makes very little/no sense in its surface reading. As far as i … Read more >>
Month: April 2009
Azed 1925: a generous offering
I found this puzzle even easier than the previous week’s, mainly thanks to the grid. Although there are several words where the initial letter is unchecked, the overall checking is so generous that … Read more >>
Beelzebub 1,000 (19/04/2009)
*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone, cd=cryptic definition, dd=double definition. What with last week‘s excitement, and a further auspicious puzzle number, one wondered what to expect this week. What we got was an understated theme, … Read more >>
Guardian 24,677 (Sat 18 Apr)/Paul – Marathon battle
Solving time: 6 minutes for most of the puzzle and the same again on 19dn. Paul is running the London Marathon tomorrow in support of the deafblind charity Sense. There’s more information at … Read more >>
Independent 7,027 by Phi
*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone, cd=cryptic definition, dd=double definition. A typically high-quality Friday Phi, I think. The SE corner put up a bit of a fight for me, but apart from that it all … Read more >>
Financial Times 13,059 / Mudd
Pleasing puzzle from Mudd as usual. Some nifty definitions (especially liked 2D, 21D) and more than one define-by-example style of clue (23A, 3D, 8D). I have two small questions about the wordplay (1A, … Read more >>
Guardian 24,682/Paul – On the run
A very enjoyable and typically witty puzzle from Paul, based around his participation in the London Marathon this weekend. Key: * = anagram dd = double definition < = reverse Across 1. POTASSIUM … Read more >>
Independent 7022/Scorpion (Prize puzzle 18-04-09)
Tough but fair, as always with this setter. The NW corner gave me lots of problems but I got there in the end with just one answer I’m not completely sure about at … Read more >>
Inquisitor 120 — 1 Across by Schadenfreude
Despite some initial misgivings this turned out to be a straightforward puzzle from Schadenfreude. Quite a few answers seemed to fit and a couple were too short but their first and last letters … Read more >>
Enigmatic Variations 858 — Twenty-two by MynoT
Lots of jumbles make me nervous. What’s more all the down answers, and there are lots of them, are jumbled. And…there are only six across clues, the remaining entries make up 21 thematic … Read more >>
Financial Times 13,058/Viking
A few clues in here where the wordplay or structure seem to be a bit too forced, in order to make the idea work (e.g. 19A, 2D). However, the impressive device at 3D … Read more >>
Guardian 24,681 – Shed
Medium difficulty today, I’d say. No obvious theme aside from maybe 11ac and 1dn! I like Shed normally, and this was no exception – the unknown words all seem to somehow be etymologically … Read more >>
Independent 7,026 by Ascalon
*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone, cd=cryptic definition, dd=double definition. A début? Certainly not a setter I’ve come across before. I didn’t find this unduly taxing, but everything was very well put together. There’s a … Read more >>
Independent on Sunday 1001 by Quixote (19 Apr 2009)
The standard excellent Quixote puzzle as it heads into the second thousand. Solving time, 25 mins. SW corner by far the hardest for me. * = anagram < = reversed ACROSS 1 MI … Read more >>
New Administrator
As of this week there is a new administrator at Fifteensquared, myself Gaufrid. Chatmeister will cease to exist, instead any relevant comments will be posted under my pseudonym. My aim is to make … Read more >>