Azed 1965/groan
As per usual a wordplay or two which I’m not sure of. Somewhat harder than my last Azed outing (1958). And a surprised groan or two were elicited (Azed isn’t the most humorous … Read more >>
Month: January 2010
Everyman 3304
Not my favourite ever – 11ac is a recent, but not very popular television show which I think is perhaps a little unfair. Also, the way that I parse is, 13dn requires BRAIN … Read more >>
Enigmatic Variations 898: Prime Suspect by Nutmeg
A puzzle entitled Eggheads in this month’s Magpie (January 2010) and French Polish in last week’s Inquisitor (#1108, 09/01/2010) are Nutmeg’s most recent offerings, and here we are with Prime Suspect. In this … Read more >>
Guardian 24,915 (Sat 28 Sat)/Shed – Busoni non grata
Solving time: Best part of a week before using references for 4ac and 1dn. Sometimes it all goes wrong; this was such an occasion, and I got totally stuck on two clues, despite … Read more >>
Beelzebub 1,040 (24/01/10)
A good week, I think. This took me several sessions, but I was determined not to cheat. Everything was ultimately solvable, though 1ac was unfamiliar enough to require some undirected Chambers-browsing on my … Read more >>
Independent 7266 by Phi
I enjoyed this puzzle a lot, very tough and very satisfying to finish, with all understood, and some very well constructed clues, as one expects from Phi. Solving time, 40 mins. * = … Read more >>
Guardian 24,920 / Enigmatist
Well, for me, the week’s ending, as it began, on a high note, with a welcome appearance by Enigmatist. There were some lovely clues, as we would expect, but one or two that … Read more >>
Inquisitor 1109 Short Cut by Schadenfreude
As usual with a Schadenfreude offering there were a lot of unfamiliar words – LYTTA, DONAT, PACHALIC and NITID to name but four! The clues were scupulously fair, though one of them has defeated us for … Read more >>
Financial Times 13,296 / Falcon
A very good puzzle, I thought. Smooth surfaces throughout, and nothing too obscure other than one look-up I needed for 11a. Picks for best clues: BLUEBOTTLE, WREN Across 1 BACKHANDER HAND (cards) in … Read more >>
Independent 7261 by Dac (Saturday Prize Puzzle 23 January 2010)
This is the first puzzle by Dac that I have blogged. I didn’t find anything too difficult. I’m not sure how long this took as I did it whilst watching Saturday afternoon football … Read more >>
Financial Times 13,295 / Styx
A new(ish?) setter – Styx seems to be very fastidious about the surface reading of the clues, as these are universally “natural” and concise. However, this flawlessness is almost to a fault in … Read more >>
Independent 7,265/Tyrus
We haven’t had many Tyrus puzzles, but he is for my money by far the hardest setter on the Indy team. I spent an hour tackling this online last night and managed to … Read more >>
Guardian 24,919 – Gordius
As regular readers will know, I (and others) am not a big fan of Gordius, and while there’s nothing particularly inspiring in this puzzle, I didn’t find much to object to either, apart … Read more >>
Independent on Sunday 1041 by Quixote – 24 Jan 2010
Something to look out for here, referred to after the clue explanations. Solving time, 21 mins. * = anagram < = reversed ACROSS 6 PRECIS LecturE 7 ORRIS Hidden 9 (Guar)DIAN THUS R … Read more >>
Financial Times 13,286 – Falcon
Monday Prize Crossword on 18 January 2010 Another easy introduction to the FT week. This puzzle has a wide variety of devices and would be ideal training ground for newbies. ACROSS 1 READ … Read more >>