September 2011 – Page 5 – Fifteensquared

Financial Times 13,798 by Cinephile

Wed September 14, 2011 at 12:11 pm by PeeDee

Nice stuff from Cinephile: varied, not to hard and not to easy. The D of the special instructions stands for DREAM, mostly in relation to to A Midsummer Night’s Dream by Shakespeare. Not too obscure as … Read more >>

Guardian 25,427 – Paul

Wed September 14, 2011 at 10:16 amWed September 14, 2011 at 9:23 am by Andrew

I found it quite hard to get started on this one, and things didn’t get much easier even after getting a few answers in. There are two themes, based on 9+16ac and on … Read more >>

Inquisitor 1193 : Clearance by Shark

Wed September 14, 2011 at 2:00 am by duncanshiell

Shark is a new setter to me, so I wasn’t sure what to expect when I started the puzzle. We were told that the wordplay in each clue leads to the answer with … Read more >>

Financial Times 13797 Jason

Wed September 14, 2011 at 12:41 pmTue September 13, 2011 at 10:00 am by scchua

The last Jason I blogged, I commented that I had enjoyed all his puzzles to date. Today’s carries on the trend. I did find it a bit harder at first, as I could … Read more >>

Guardian 25,426 – Brummie

Tue September 13, 2011 at 3:26 am by Uncle Yap

Sorry if this blog comes out later than normal. I was watching the enthralling final of the US Open between Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal when the daily puzzles became available on-line. In … Read more >>

Independent 7772/Tyrus

Tue September 13, 2011 at 2:38 am by John

Phew. This was hard. I laboured over it and only got there in the end after giving up at times and pressing Reveal. If I hadn’t I’d have been up all night and you would … Read more >>

Guardian 25,425 – Rufus

Mon September 12, 2011 at 1:39 pmMon September 12, 2011 at 12:59 pm by manehi

The usual gentle but pleasant start to the week from Rufus. Favourite was 15 Across 1 GRATIFY =Please. (Ray gift)* 5 APOSTLE = a missionary who may appear on a spoon handle 10 … Read more >>

Guardian Quiptic N° 617 by Nutmeg

Mon September 12, 2011 at 11:42 am by PeterO

I have blogged a couple of Quiptics by Nutmeg before, and they each have their own character. In this one, I think she has hit the Quiptic target squarely, with clues going for concision rather than elaborate storytelling, seamless surfaces, and a wide variety of cryptic devices.

Independent 7771/Quixote

Mon September 12, 2011 at 10:28 amMon September 12, 2011 at 9:55 am by Pierre

Bonjour! Slightly confused, since we had a Quixote last week and up till now he’s been fortnightly, with a range of other Indy setters giving us a Monday offering in between. However, ours … Read more >>

Independent on Sunday 1125 – Raich

Mon September 12, 2011 at 9:52 amMon September 12, 2011 at 12:46 am by Uncle Yap

Sorry, folks, with all the recent events in my life this last couple of weeks; including a trip to China plus a retinal operation last Friday, this has completely escaped my mind. I … Read more >>

Private Eye/Cyclops 451 – Prison ambience

Mon September 12, 2011 at 12:15 am by beermagnet

I expect newcomers to the Eye Crossword would find this tricky but to us long time Eye solvers this was a classic of its type. Cracking surfaces as usual, with the typical sexual … Read more >>

Beelzebub 1124

Sun September 11, 2011 at 7:30 am by Jed

ACROSS 1 Most of peers into suppressing attitude that’s plain PRAIRIE AIR in PRIE{S} 7 Article not seen in best funerary venture CREM CRE{A}M 11 Continues to study, skipping … Read more >>

Everyman crossword No 3,388

Sun September 11, 2011 at 12:04 am by Stella

I found this on the easy side for Everyman, but no less a pleasure to solve, and with at least one unfamiliar usage. Across 1. Pudding poorly cooked – extremely lumpy (4-4) ROLY … Read more >>

Azed 2049/Partypooper

Sun September 11, 2011 at 4:45 amSun September 11, 2011 at 12:01 am by ilancaron

Solved intermittently at my desk at work while waiting for something or other. Needed the BRB more than usual it seemed but maybe I have a short memory. Across 1 S(CREW,T)OPPED 11 CA,ECA … Read more >>

Independent 7,764 by Nimrod (Saturday Prize Puzzle, 3/9/11)

Sat September 17, 2011 at 11:35 amSat September 10, 2011 at 10:14 am by Simon Harding

One doesn’t expect an easy ride from Nimrod, and we didn’t get one here. For me this was another week of having a stab at it, then waiting until the following Saturday, and … Read more >>