Beelzebub 1140

  A wonderful selection of previously unknown words amongst the answers   ACROSS 1 German certainly recalled China as source of purgative    JALAP   german yes JA + china PAL< 5 Mark … Read more >>

Azed 2066/hue

Another case of forgetting it was my turn.  And then when I did start solving, I found out halfway through I was working on this week’s (2067).  Oh well.  Fortunately 2066 (and all … Read more >>

Everyman nº3405

A typical Sunday morning stroll. Thanks, Everyman. With a wink to scchua, I include a photo of the car I learnt to drive in – or one like it – I wrote ours … Read more >>

Beelzebub 1,139

We’ve had rather a long time to complete Beelzebub 1,139 for several reasons. I must admit I needed it: this seemed a very challenging puzzle. Still here we are, and as the New … Read more >>

Independent7877/Phi

Unusually difficult for Phi today, I thought: on my first pass I solved far fewer clues than usual. Perhaps this was the result of my incompetence but one factor was the number of … Read more >>

Guardian 25,531, by Araucaria

A gentle Friday puzzle from Araucaria, in which for once ellipses between clues actually contribute to the solve. I went straight in at 5ac. and the rest was mostly plain sailing . Thanks … Read more >>

Financial Times 13,900 / Aardvark

It’s pretty unusual for Aardvark to make a Friday appearance and it made for a pleasant change. A gentle, enjoyable crossword with clever misdirections and natural clue surfaces. 1a isn’t fully explained, help … Read more >>

Financial Times no.13,899 by FALCON

Nothing too devious from Falcon this morning: a decent mix (though perhaps a few too many insertions), a handful of real dollies and only one or two quibble-worthy liberties… ACROSS 1. CHAPEL MASTER  … Read more >>

Financial Times Prize 13891 Crux

This is my first crack at blogging a Prize Puzzle, and an enjoyable one it is.  Not many problems, just slightly in the SE corner; the last one in was 29A, after having … Read more >>