Everyman 3354/9th January 2011
Nice steaming cup of coffee, bacon sarnie (lashings of brown sauce) and the Everyman crossword. Sunday morning at its best. I found this tricky in places, and there’s one I’m not sure about. … Read more >>
Month: January 2011
Enigmatic Variations 948 – Tradition by Samuel
We were told that twenty-five clues contained a superfluous letter or word that needed to be removed before solving and that these would give, in clue order, an abridged definition of a TRADITION. … Read more >>
Independent 7560 by Bannsider (Saturday Prize Puzzle 8 January 2011)
Another very satisfying crossword from Bannsider. As usual the wordplay is very precise, even although it takes me a while to work it all out. The entry that took me the longest time … Read more >>
Guardian Prize 25214 by Paul
Solving time : about two hours, and it was some hours later that I finally understood a couple of the solutions. A very enjoyable challenge with all the liberties we have come to … Read more >>
Financial Times 13,591 / Bradman
I don’t know what’s prevented Shuchi from posting today but here is an analysis of the clues. Sorry for its tardy appearance but I have been out all afternoon (a rare occurrence). The … Read more >>
Derby Sloggers and Betters Event 29th January
Update and Important Request The get-together in Derby is only a couple of weeks away, and I need to send everyone who’s indicated they’re coming some final details. The most important bit is … Read more >>
Independent 7565/Phi
As always, a well-constructed and satisfactory crossword from Phi. The only clue that defeats me, at any rate from the parsing point of view, is 1ac. Probably utterly straightforward. Can’t see a Nina, … Read more >>
Guardian 25,219 / Brendan
Seeing the word KING in every across clue made me think back to Bonxie’s rather difficult puzzle of last week when LEFT began all the Down clues and four of the Across clues. … Read more >>
Guardian 25,218 / Paul
A very high quality and entertaining puzzle from Paul – I think this was a nice level of difficulty for a weekday puzzle, and the theme was quite accessible. Lots of good clues … Read more >>
Independent 7564 – Anax
This puzzle first appeared in the Indy ‘i’ on 3rd December last year and the day before Anax mentioned in a comment on 15² that it was a puzzle that had “a moderately … Read more >>
Financial Times 13,581 / Cincinnus
Prize puzzle from the FT of December 31, 2010 An end of year surprise – prize puzzle on a Friday. The clue for 19D sums it up for me. Liked many clues such … Read more >>
Financial Times 13,590 / Gurney
This was an abundance of plain-sailing – if anything, the main risk was of skirting too close to The Doldrums in places – and my annotations are correspondingly skimpy, so please holler if … Read more >>
Financial Times 13,582 – Falcon
Monday Prize Crossword first appeared on-line on 4 January 2011 which is a Tuesday Another easy week-starter, this time from a stranger to this slot, Falcon. ACROSS 1 BISHOP dd Bishop is a … Read more >>
Independent 7,563 / Dac
For me, Dac’s puzzles tend to be characterised by an economy of language and a smoothness of surface reading in the clues, and are reminiscent of those Guardian puzzles set by Custos (the … Read more >>
Financial Times 13,589 Set by AARDVARK
Enjoyable crossword, neither too hard nor too easy. This was my first FT blog and I don’t know AARDVARK at all, so was a little apprehensive starting this one. My favourite clue was … Read more >>