As usual, the definition is underlined in each clue.
Month: April 2012
Inquisitor 1224: I’m Back! by Augeas
Augeas’s second Inquisitor puzzle, so an appropriate title? And forgive me if I’m brief – on a week’s break for Easter, just outside Hay-on-Wye. Four items have something in common, three of … Read more >>
Financial Times 13980 Dante
Dante starts the FT week, after, as Rufus, starting the Guardian week yesterday, in the same style, with double and cryptic definitions and anagrams, compactly clued. Thanks Dante. Definitions are underlined in the clues. … Read more >>
Independent 7958 / Scorpion
A bit of a mixed bag today we feel from Scorpion. We deduced the theme fairly early on and thought that we would have to resort to the internet to work out some … Read more >>
Guardian 25612 – Tramp
Phew! What a tough nut to crack, taking me well over the hour, my criterion for a difficult puzzle. It did not help that the mini-theme is something which I have never seen … Read more >>
Guardian Cryptic 25611 Rufus
A typical Rufus, compactly clued with double and cryptic definitions mostly. I reckon there were fewer anagrams (which type of clue I find relatively easier), which is probably why I took a bit … Read more >>
Guardian Quiptic 648/Algol
A couple of surprises when I opened up this morning’s puzzle: a new setter, and a theme. I can’t ever remember there being a themed Quiptic before (although there was a hidden message … Read more >>
Independent 7957 by Quixote
*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone, CD=cryptic def, DD=double def, sp=spoonerism A fairly standard Quixote with some nice clues. As a sceptic, I rather liked 13 down. Across 1 Trouble Spots: Tots around Roubles + … Read more >>
Private Eye/Cyclops 466 – Befoul banana’s kin
This crossword was unusual in two respects. It had a large number of clues: This grid design gives 32 lights and only one clue involved two lights, whereas Cyclops often creates longer answers … Read more >>
Beelzebub 1,153
A rare, completely unaided finish for me, though I did turn to Chambers a modest number of times while preparing the blog post. It’s impressive that Beelzebub manages to vary the level of … Read more >>
Everyman No. 3418 (8th April)
Lorraine: Good morning to you all. This weeks offering was rather difficult I felt, so once again I had to enlist Nick’s help. I hope you all faired better than me. Thank you to … Read more >>
Azed 2079
It’s often said that you know you are right when you complete the last stage of a Listener puzzle properly. I think the same can be said of the parsing Azed’s clues. If … Read more >>
Independent on Sunday 1,155 by Raich
The third Sunday Raich I’ve drawn on the trot, I think, so it seems the 152 calendar is somewhat in sync with that of the IoS. No complaints at all from me, as … Read more >>
Independent 7,950 / Morph (Saturday Prize Crossword 7/04/12)
Someone once asked us if being a blogger took the pleasure out of completing the puzzles. Our answer was a resounding …. “No!” Today was definitely one of the occasions when our faces … Read more >>
Enigmatic Variations No. 1,012: Drab Cops by Nudd
A cryptic title, hinting maybe at Columbo, with his dour demeanour and down-at-heel dress sense? The preamble tells us to find a horizontally-symmetrical four word quotation, and twelve answers needing some sort of adjustment … Read more >>