November 2011 – Page 3 – Fifteensquared

Independent 7833 by Dac

Wed November 23, 2011 at 9:21 am by flashling

Half expected Crosophile as I’ve got him a few months running on Wednesdays, but always a pleasure to get a Dac as ever little contentious with a couple of &lits. Few anagrams and … Read more >>

Inquisitor 1203: Caveat by Hypnos

Wed November 23, 2011 at 7:08 pmWed November 23, 2011 at 1:23 am by kenmac

The title is “CAVEAT”, which means a notice or a warning! According to the preamble, the wordplay, in thirty clues, generates an extra letter giving a variant of a quotation. There are four … Read more >>

Financial Times 13,857 / Armonie

Tue November 22, 2011 at 10:18 am by Gaufrid

One for newcomers to cryptic puzzles today, with nothing particularly difficult nor any rare or unusual answers. I have a minor query regarding part of the wordplay in 18dn but apart from that … Read more >>

Independent 7,832 / Scorpion – to coin a phrase

Tue November 22, 2011 at 9:00 am by RatkojaRiku

This was a puzzle to be savoured, a treasure trove for word lovers, and so perhaps not the ideal puzzle to have to zip through to write a blog. Nor was it the … Read more >>

Guardian 25,486 – Paul

Tue November 22, 2011 at 4:38 amTue November 22, 2011 at 2:00 am by Uncle Yap

Another very entertaining morning, courtesy of Master Paul with his challenging but very fair clues, witty and original. ACROSS 1 FLAT CAP Rev of PACT (agreement) ALF (from Alfred the Great) for a … Read more >>

Guardian 25,485 / Rufus

Mon November 21, 2011 at 12:44 pmMon November 21, 2011 at 11:20 am by Eileen

Apologies for the rather later posting today: I’ve been whiling away two hours at the surgery between glucose-tolerance blood tests. It’s a pretty straightforward Rufus for a grey morning, with perhaps even more … Read more >>

Guardian Quiptic 627 by Beale

Mon November 21, 2011 at 1:23 pmMon November 21, 2011 at 11:16 am by PeeDee

I have not blogged a Quiptic before, so this was interesting, and not all that easy. Thank you to Beale. Hold mouse over clue number to see clue. Across 1 SMOKESCREEN SMOKE (have … Read more >>

Independent 7831 by Morph

Mon November 21, 2011 at 1:04 am by NealH

*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone, CD=cryptic def, DD=double def, sp=spoonerism I’m not entirely sure I follow this one. I think the theme is words said in a Northern accent, although I’d never thought of … Read more >>

Cyclops 456: Willy or won’t he?

Mon November 21, 2011 at 7:53 amMon November 21, 2011 at 12:01 am by jetdoc

I’m not sure why, but I found this a rather more challenging Cyclops than many recent ones, and all the better for it. There certainly seems to be a plethora of male genitalia … Read more >>

Beelzebub 1134

Sun November 20, 2011 at 8:00 am by Jed

Straightforward puzzle this week with some smashing, previously unknown words – 5a, 30a and 1d in particular ACROSS 5 Old miser fine during botched stick-up PUCKFIST (F STICK UP)* 10 … Read more >>

Azed 2059

Sun November 20, 2011 at 12:35 am by Andrew

This was a fairly typical Azed for me, in that I solved about three-quarters of it fairly quickly and without aids (though with plenty of educated guesswork) but took a bit longer on … Read more >>

Everyman Nº 3,398 (13 November 2011)

Sun November 20, 2011 at 11:28 amSun November 20, 2011 at 12:01 am by PeterO

Everyman continues to provide a wide variety of clue types, with smooth surfaces. As is often the case, there are several geographic references which may not be known to many of his solvers … Read more >>

Independent on Sunday 1135/Raich

Sun November 20, 2011 at 8:17 amSun November 20, 2011 at 12:01 am by Pierre

Those who have tackled Raich’s crosswords since he started setting for the Indy will know that he’s keen on his football, so I’ll go straight into cliché land and say that this was … Read more >>

Independent 7,824 by Monk (Saturday Prize Puzzle, 12/11/11)

Sun November 20, 2011 at 9:22 amSat November 19, 2011 at 12:14 pm by Simon Harding

I’m usually pretty excited to see a (relatively rare) appearance from Monk pop up, especially on a Saturday. Unfortunately, and probably simply to do with the challenges of being self-employed now, I got … Read more >>

Guardian Prize 25,478 / Paul

Sat November 19, 2011 at 1:36 pmSat November 19, 2011 at 12:02 am by Eileen

An entertaining pot-pourri of a puzzle from Paul, to round off an excellent week: a mini-theme of Dad’s Army and mini-mini-themes of pastas, Prime Ministers and flowers. Just right for a Saturday, I … Read more >>