Inquisitor 1114 – Two Dozen by Loda
We found this a very interesting and entertaining crossword. I (Hi) found it easy to start, but difficult to finish – the opposite of my normal experience! Twelve across clues had to be … Read more >>
Month: March 2010
Financial Times 13,325 / Aardvark
A well-crafted tour through a variety of avenues of general knowledge today. We seem to cover everything from military history to folklore and geology, by way of a healthy dose of geography along … Read more >>
Independent 7,291 by Phi (Saturday Prize Puzzle, 27/02/10)
I seem to have got off lightly after some of the toughies we’ve had on recent Saturdays, which I’ve really struggled with. This, by stark contrast, didn’t put up much of a fight … Read more >>
Guardian 24,949 / Brendan
I consider myself very fortunate in drawing this one, as I blogged the last Brendan. There’s the usual witty and clever cluing and enough cross-reference to add interest, without making it too easy. … Read more >>
Independent on Sunday 1046 by Quixote – 28th Feb 2010
We polished this one off in the Bridge in Topsham, with pints of Branoc and hot pasties. What a wonderful afternoon. Found this easier than the previous puzzle, the vocab in this puzzle … Read more >>
Independent 7,295 by Mordred
An interesting one this, I think – neither too hard nor too easy, though for several the answer came more easily than the explanation. There’s a Nina across the third and antepenultimate rows … Read more >>
Financial Times 13,316 – Dante
Monday Prize Crossword from 22 February 2010 Another smooth offering from the slick Dante. Very suitable for beginners to this delightful pastime of solving cryptic crosswords. ACROSS 1 NUDISM *(undies minus E) + … Read more >>
Financial Times 13,315 by Cinephile
Prize puzzle from the Weekend FT of February 20 The top-left corner of this puzzle took me a while. I especially like 21D. Across 1. HECUBA – HE-CUB (young male) + A (a) … Read more >>
Independent 7,294/Dac
It’s been a tough week so far in the Indy, but a good one. Dac’s puzzles are generally on the easier side, but never anything less than brilliant. I found the right hand … Read more >>
Financial Times 13,324 / Cinephile
The preamble states that five answers have something in common but by my count it could be six. These are: Little Red Riding Hood (2,3dn) and wolf (6dn) Pied Piper (8dn) and rats … Read more >>
Guardian 24,948 – Paul
I found it very hard to get started on this one, but getting 3dn, swiftly followed by 15dn, and most of the linked answers, filled up a lot of the grid, and the … Read more >>
Financial Times 13,323 / Jason
One could say this was a gift of a puzzle because by and large most answers were easily obtainable, though I have minor reservations about 7, 18, 19 and 23dn. The parsing for 14dn … Read more >>
Independent 7293/Scorpion
Tough: I don’t know what I’d have done without the reveal facility on the Independent website. But I’m the one at fault, for, apart from one or two quibbles, the clues were understandable … Read more >>
Guardian 24947 – Orlando
A delightful potpourri of various cryptic devices to brighten up a Tuesday morning. Not too difficult and quite entertaining, too. ACROSS 1 RUSSIA LEATHER RUSSIA (country) LEA (meadow) THERE minus E ; a … Read more >>
Independent 7292 by Eimi
*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone, CD=cryptic def, DD=double def, sp=spoonerism Entertaining puzzle by Eimi that mentions a couple of composers, although I don’t know if there is meant to be some hidden theme there. … Read more >>