Financial Times 13,237 / Aardvark
As usual with Aardvark there was a lot of repetition of the type of wordplay used in clues, as can be seen by the number of *( ) and [ ] in the … Read more >>
Month: November 2009
Financial Times 13,236 / Dante
I thought 16 ac and 6 dn were the best of the cryptic definitions that are characteristic of Rufus/Dante. Some very good, natural surfaces as well, e.g., 27 ac and 22 dn. Across 1 ALBERT … Read more >>
Independent 7204/Virgilius
U.K. Prime Ministers: I think there are ten of them (Major, Eden, Canning, Aberdeen, Wilson, Derby, Melbourne, Brown, Heath, Grey), which explains 17dn. We’ve become used to Virgilius cleverly fitting them in and … Read more >>
Guardian 24859 – Puck
dd = double definition cd = cryptic definition rev = reversed or reversal ins = insertion cha = charade ha = hidden answer *(fodder) = anagram A cleverly crafted puzzle with four film … Read more >>
Independent 7203 by Hypnos
*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone, CD=cryptic def, DD=double def, sp=spoonerism A bit of mixed bag with some very nice clues but a couple of slightly weak CDs. It took me a while to understand … Read more >>
Guardian 24,858 / Orlando
It’s one of the occasional non-Rufus Mondays. This was harder than a typical Rufus, but mostly not too difficult. There’s a theme involving characters from the TV series M*A*S*H, who are collected up … Read more >>
Azed 1954
I’m hoping that this puzzle from last Sunday does not have a similar deadline extension to last week’s prize puzzle. If you know that it does, please let me know with a comment, … Read more >>
Independent 7,196 by Radian (Saturday Prize Puzzle, 07/11/09)
After the splendid classical music themed Indy 7,148 of a few weeks ago, I was pleased to open the newspaper and find that I was blogging a further Radian puzzle. The theme here … Read more >>
Everyman No. 3293 (8th November)
Lorraine: Another straight forward everyman this week, a real pleasure to solve. Legend to solution comments: * = anagram. < = word reversed. Across 1. BUDAPEST BUD + A + PEST 5. PLAY … Read more >>
Azed 1953
“Words may be false and full of art; sighs are the natural language of the heart”, by Thomas Shadwell is the quotation referred to here. The second part is obtained by the letters … Read more >>
Guardian 24,851 (Sat 7 Nov)/Araucaria – Shaw thing
Solving time: 37 mins, one mistake (9ac) This was enjoyable but I found it very difficult. There was a theme based on George Bernard Shaw’s Three Plays For Puritans, of which I was … Read more >>
Enigmatic Variations No. 887 – Generic by Syd Lexis
I made good progress during the first session, solving most of the clues fairly quickly but was held up for a while at the end by 16a and, particularly, 51a. With these resolved … Read more >>
Independent 7,201/Phi
A characteristically lovely offering from Phi rounds off what has been a really rather good working week of Indy puzzles. The last 5 days have given us pretty much everything cryptic crosswords should … Read more >>
Financial Times 13,233 / Bradman
Apologies for the delay in posting. I couldn’t finish the puzzle in my lunch hour as I normally do. I found this extremely challenging. Words beyond my vocabulary (SKIDDOO, EDENTATE, to name two), … Read more >>
Guardian 24856 / Gordius
I enjoyed this one – quite a few nice clues. (3 of my last 8 blog posts have been on Gordius puzzles, as it turns out…) Across 4. SADDEN ADD = “increase” in … Read more >>