Independent 7,966 / Nestor
My Thursday slot often presents me with a puzzle by Nestor and today was one such day. For me at least, this puzzle fell into place more easily than some earlier Nestor puzzles … Read more >>
Month: April 2012
Financial Times 13,979 – Falcon
Monday Prize Crossword/Apr 16 Quite a surprise to see a Falcon crossword on a Monday (instead of the expected Dante who, for once, took the Tuesday spot that week), but this neatly clued puzzle was … Read more >>
Financial Times 13,978 by Cinephile
Prize puzzle from the Weekend FT of April 14, 2012 I sailed through this puzzle with ease. Well, except for 12A (MISSEL THRUSH) which was not a bird I knew of, although the … Read more >>
Financial Times 13,987 by Cinephile
A pretty straightforward puzzle today, very enjoyable nonetheless. Thank you Cinephile. Hold the mouse pointer over any clue number to read the clue. Across 1 ALLIGATOR sounds like “alley gaitor” (passage and legwear) … Read more >>
Independent 7965 / Crosophile
This looks like a fairly standard crossword from Crosophile. The clues are not too difficult, the wordplay is not too complex and the vocabulary of the entries comprises words I would expect to … Read more >>
Inquisitor 1225: One Down by Schadenfreude
This puzzle had quite a long preamble, as follows: ‘Initially the filled grid will contain seven consecutive empty cells. One letter must be removed from the answers to 20 clues and the residue … Read more >>
Guardian 25,619 – Gordius
Another rather horrible grid, with four semi-isolated quadrants. There were a couple of these last week, where the setters had helpfully split some answers around the quadrants. No such luck here, but instead … Read more >>
Independent 7964/Anax
A quite excellent crossword from Anax. He seems to be a frequent contributor to the Independent (or perhaps it’s just that he always seems to get me) and although his crosswords are on the … Read more >>
Financial Times 13986 Armonie
A first pass got me worried, until I got a foothold in the SE corner, and things then went okay. Thanks Armonie for an enjoyable puzzle, perhaps a little harder than usual. Definitions … Read more >>
Guardian 25618 – Paul
I really enjoyed myself this morning . This has got to be one of the best Paul puzzles … there is sex, there is religion, there is intrigue and there is royalty. Did … Read more >>
Independent 7963 by Mordred
A puzzle which I enjoyed, solving time 32 mins. I found the top half very easy but the bottom half far more difficult. Mordred often has themes/Ninas, sometimes quite subtle ones. … Read more >>
Guardian 25,617 – Orlando
Excellent, challenging puzzle from Orlando today. Favourites were 13ac, 24ac and 20dn. Across 1 VANDAL =”Old German” tribe VANDA=”V and A”=Victoria and Albert museum, + L=”fifty” in roman numerals 4 LILY PAD =”FLOATER” … Read more >>
Guardian Quiptic N° 649 by Pan
I found this slow going at first, because of the lack of answers which leapt out at me, but it came out handily in the end. Across 1. Attack garden pest with empty … Read more >>
IoS 1,156/Radian
This was a tour de force from Radian, with about as much thematic material as you could hope for. Having solved the puzzle mid-week, the significance of the date of publication was lost … Read more >>
Azed 2,080
An unusual grid construction in this week’s Azed gave us rather more 4-letter words than usual, as well as the usual quotient of obsolete, foreign (particularly French) and downright obscure words. The 4-letter … Read more >>