Everyman 3342
Having posted fortnightly for almost exactly 18 months, and with various other commitments coming to the fore, I won’t be posting on here any more, and so, unless there is no forthcoming replacement … Read more >>
Month: October 2010
Guardian 25,143 (Sat 16 Nov)/Paul – Brandy flap
Solving time: 8½ minutes A good puzzle from Paul which I made considerably more difficult for myself with a wrong answer at 1ac. There were several cross-referenced clues, including a couple of related … Read more >>
Independent 7,479 Prize Puzzle/Nimrod
Nimrod’s been in for a bit of stick with some of his recent Indy puzzles, but I doubt that there’s anything in here to create such a fuss. This was a good, tough, … Read more >>
Enigmatic Variations No.936 – Four Quarters by Giovanni
This brought back happy memories of the very first EV that I completed. That one also used this format (splitting the grid into quarters). It wasn’t that long ago, so if you’ve been … Read more >>
Independent 7494/Phi
A tour de force from Phi today as he incorporates nothing but 24 11s in the across clues, has a normal-looking grid, and no strange words in the down clues. One or two … Read more >>
Guardian 25,148 / Chifonie
Due to the earlier site access problems, manehi sent me a copy of his analysis but without a preamble. As I have been too busy getting the site back on-line to do this … Read more >>
Financial Times 13523 / Bradman
As Shuchi is not available today, I am writing this, so the blog stays in India! I enjoyed solving the puzzle, which is none-too-difficult. Across 1 PRE-RAPHAELITES – anag. of HITLER-APPEASER 10 RIFLE … Read more >>
Site Outage
Apologies for the site being unavailable from early yesterday evening until about 11am today. The hosting company suspended the 15² account due to a claimed excessive cpu usage which was supposedly causing performance … Read more >>
Financial Times 13,522 / Styx
I found this a lot trickier than is typical the case from Styx, but I’m not sure that my brain is firing on all cylinders today so it could just be a reflection … Read more >>
Independent 7493 by Eimi
So it’s Eimi today, normally this would be a wake up to look for hidden stuff or clues about the date etc, but if there is anything I’ve missed it. There’s singers, songs … Read more >>
Guardian 25147 / Araucaria
A fairly tough puzzle from Araucaria, I thought. Well, I found that filling the grid wasn’t too difficult, but there are a few I can’t explain… The introductory text “A puzzle for today” … Read more >>
Financial Times 13,513 – Dante
Monday Prize Crossword on 11 October 2010 Another no-sweater from Dante and his slick wordplay to start the FT week. ACROSS 1 SLIGHT Minor shows discourtesy (6) dd but what is the function … Read more >>
Financial Times 13,512 by Mudd
Prize puzzle from the Weekend FT of October 9 I found the top-left corner of this puzzle challenging. Clue 9A (RIPSNORTER) is a difficult one but uses a darned good cryptic definition. Mudd … Read more >>
Independent 7,492 by Dac
Goodness, this was a bit more of a bruising than I expected today. In fact I really struggled, resorting first to “Reveal Letter” and eventually to “Reveal” simply to get this post filed … Read more >>
Financial Times 13,521 / Aardvark
Normally Aardvark only puts in an appearance once a month, usually on a Wednesday, but this is his second outing in the space of two weeks. Mostly straightforward, though I have a slight … Read more >>