November 2011 – Page 5 – Fifteensquared

Guardian 25,480 – Pasquale

Wed November 16, 2011 at 4:40 amTue November 15, 2011 at 2:34 am by Uncle Yap

Cannot say this is an easy one as I found myself stumbling all over the place, trying to understand the crafty word-play of many a clue. As usual with the Don, this is … Read more >>

Guardian Quiptic 626 / Nutmeg

Mon November 14, 2011 at 2:24 pmMon November 14, 2011 at 12:14 pm by Big Dave

I found this to be a considerable improvement on the last puzzle that I reviewed from this setter, although some of the constructs appeared to be a tad difficult for the newer solver. … Read more >>

Independent 7825/Quixote

Mon November 14, 2011 at 9:25 am by Pierre

A WYSIWYG Monday puzzle from Quixote. And if that sounds like damning with faint praise, it’s absolutely not intended that way. This was a crossword with accurate cluing, clear definitions, a good range … Read more >>

Guardian 25,479 – Rufus

Mon November 14, 2011 at 9:29 amMon November 14, 2011 at 8:51 am by Andrew

In contrast to the tricky Enigmatist puzzle I blogged last week, this was all plain sailing. The usual straightforward clueing (with 22ac being perhaps a slightly more involved construction than usual) and smooth … Read more >>

Beelzebub 1,133

Sun November 27, 2011 at 3:45 pmSun November 13, 2011 at 3:44 pm by Simon Harding

An over-long pause between solving and blogging means that little of the solving experience remains in my memory. However, everything seems very clear and explicable. *=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone, cd=cryptic definition, dd=double definition. … Read more >>

Independent on Sunday 1134: Glowworm

Sun November 13, 2011 at 3:03 pmSun November 13, 2011 at 10:11 am by jetdoc

A very rapid solve this week. Not much else to say, really. Across 1 DISASTERS Cop’s plants are flops DI’S = Detective Inspector’s; ASTERS = plants 6 DEBUG Pick off insects from budgie … Read more >>

AZED No. 2,058 Plain ‘Competition Puzzle’

Sun November 13, 2011 at 7:33 amSun November 13, 2011 at 6:45 am by The Trafites

Nick: Typical Azed competition crossword this week, being a tad more difficult than normal plain puzzles; 7½/10 on the Azedian hardness scale for me. I am not impressed (my own personal view, being a … Read more >>

Everyman No. 3397 (6th November)

Sun November 13, 2011 at 6:30 am by The Trafites

Lorraine: Good morning to you all, I had real trouble starting this week. I got 26ac immediately but then that was it. I put the puzzle down for a while then asked Nick to … Read more >>

Independent 7818 Anarche (Sat 5-Nov)

Sat November 12, 2011 at 10:32 amSat November 12, 2011 at 12:15 am by beermagnet

A Bonfire night themed crossword with enough horrible death by burning to satisfy the most extreme of sado-pyro-necro-philiacs. Indeed for people with a fear of fire or otherwise of a nervous disposition, like … Read more >>

Enigmatic Variations 991 To Horse by MynoT

Sat November 12, 2011 at 7:21 pmSat November 12, 2011 at 12:01 am by twencelas

So some clues with extra letters this week, these will reveal a quotation and an anagram of the author. Then the other clues must be modified before entry. What can be so difficult … Read more >>

Guardian 25,472 / Araucaria

Sat November 12, 2011 at 11:29 amSat November 12, 2011 at 12:01 am by mhl

This was a typically enjoyable prize crossword from Araucaria. We struggled with this for a while before guessing the theme, after which everything went very fast, apart from some troubles working out the … Read more >>

The Guardian No 25,477 by Araucaria

Fri November 11, 2011 at 10:44 amFri November 11, 2011 at 9:20 am by Stella

I’d expected to find some reference to today’s peculiar date, and perhaps also to Armistice etc. Instead, I was faced with this tour de force by the Master at his most convoluted. The … Read more >>

Independent 7823 / Radian

Fri November 11, 2011 at 9:45 amFri November 11, 2011 at 7:00 am by duncanshiell

I have not solved many puzzles by Radian before, but I discover that he is one of the most prolific setters, in many guises – Crucible in The Guardian and Redshank in the … Read more >>

Financial Times 13,848 / Falcon

Fri November 11, 2011 at 3:26 am by shuchi

A gentle puzzle with Falcon’s elegant clues and references to a variety of knowledge domains. Smooth anagrams, natural surfaces, nothing too taxing. Across 1 EMBALM M (male) BA (graduate), in ELM (tree) 5 … Read more >>

Financial Times no.13,847 by REDSHANK

Thu November 10, 2011 at 11:37 am by Ringo

Oops. Problems here. I’m not sure how it’s come out in the pink paper, but the PDF puzzle I’ve got from the FT website is all to cock: rogue white squares and clues … Read more >>