Enigmatic Variations No. 882 – Two Extremes by Oxymoron
As seems usual for me these days the preamble turned out to be harder to follow than the puzzle. In the end it was a fairly straightforward puzzle once the penny had dropped. … Read more >>
Month: October 2009
Guardian 24,821/Brummie – Ars est celare artem
Solving time: 14 mins, 4 of which on 21dn (HALE-BOPP) and 31ca (PIPER). Brummie gave us another art-themed puzzle, following Araucaria’s epic jumbo last month. This time the artists were more traditional, but … Read more >>
Guardian 24,826 – Paul
An interesting Paul puzzle today with some tricks up its sleeve. Across 1. WARM-UP. WAR(MU)P. Mu is a greek character, so used in the Cyclades. 5. ERRANTRY. E.R. + RAN + TRY. 9. … Read more >>
Independent 7,171 by Phi
*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone, cd=cryptic definition, dd=double definition. Perhaps a slight sense of bitterness that this one was not finishable for those of us with no interest in Tolkien, but apart from that … Read more >>
Financial Times 13,203 / Falcon
This was quite easy and pleasant. It helped to get the two long ones at 1,9 and 8,28 quickly. There’s a slight ‘floral inclination’ in the bottom-right (17D, 21D), the checking and wordplay … Read more >>
Financial Times 13,202 / Bradman
Here is a belated analysis of yesterday’s puzzle. Apologies for the delay but I didn’t notice that the scheduled blogger had gone AWOL until this morning. I found this a most enjoyable puzzle … Read more >>
Inquisitor 144 – Gross by Schadenfreude
Schadenfreude is one of the most regular Inquisitor setters. I have blogged a number of his puzzles in the past and all have proved challenging. This one was no exception. It took me … Read more >>
Indy 7166 (Sat 3-Oct) Anax
Another super offering from Anax. Though I think I have seen stiffer challenges from him in the past, this was most enjoyable with a fine mix of well-formed clues. Two or three I … Read more >>
Independent 7170 by Nimrod
This was very hard, with only one clue solved on first run through. When I began to make progress, it became a little easier, and I got there in the end. Solving time, … Read more >>
Guardian 24,825 / Orlando
A very enjoyable puzzle from Orlando, difficult enough to be a challenge but nothing outrageous. There are several nice clues where an anagram is cleverly concealed by the surface reading, Key: dd = … Read more >>
Independent on Sunday 1025 by Quixote (4 Oct 2009)
Solving time, 21 mins * = anagram ACROSS 1 PANTOGRAPH (Hang pop art)* 9 MAY O 10 MALIGN (a gremlin)* less re 11 LIGHT (P) EN 12 BENE (been)* F ACTRESSES 14 SLIDER … Read more >>
Financial Times 13,193 – Falcon
Monday Prize Crossword on 28 September 2009 dd = double definition cd = cryptic definition rev = reversed or reversal ins = insertion cha = charade ha = hidden answer *(fodder) = anagram … Read more >>
Financial Times 13,192 by Mudd
Prize puzzle from the Weekend FT of September 26 I found this a moderately difficult puzzle for Mudd. I especially liked 4D and 25D. Across 1. CAMISOLE – CAM (river) + I (one) … Read more >>
Independent 7,169/Dac
A nice and quick solve for me on this one, which then gave me some time to go back over it and marvel at just how good a setter Dac is. Wonderful stuff … Read more >>
Financial Times 13,201 / Monk
During the first pass I thought this was going to be easy for a Monk because some of the clues were so obvious, but subsequently the solving process slowed a little proving that … Read more >>