Never knowingly undersolved
An excellent and thoroughly enjoyable themed puzzle from Radian, with some crafty misdirection in the use of the word ‘coinage’ and some thematic references in the wordplay to several clues even when they … Read more >>
I blogged the last EV Oxymoron puzzle, with its Humphrey Bogart and Sir Isaac Newton theme. That was great fun, so hopefully more of the same here. Single letters were to be dropped … Read more >>
My turn to blog these prize puzzles seems to coincide with Paul’s turn to set them; I think that this is the third in a row. While continuing the trend for prize puzzles … Read more >>
A typically straightforward puzzle from Chifonie, with a preponderance of charade-type clues and insertions and a wide use of single-letter abbreviations. Chifonie is known for his smooth surfaces and there are some good … Read more >>
Very straightforward with lots of anagrams – couldn’t explain 9 across ACROSS 1 IN THE FIRST PLACE double definition 9 AS USUAL 10 CURRENT double definition 11 INDIE [w]INDIE[r] 12 TRAGEDIAN … Read more >>
Excellent. Long perimeter clues particularly nifty and the device used in 18a is classic ACROSS 1 Computer equipment dances behind tug TRACKERBALLS tug TRACKER dances BALLS 11 The French … Read more >>
It’s Friday today so one is not surprised to find an example of Phi’s work to grapple with over breakfast. This was a puzzle of two halves for me in that I filled … Read more >>
This was absolute murder for me. For some reason – more to do with my weak brain than with the puzzle, I think – the whole east wing of this grid was a … Read more >>
Klingsor appears in The Independent every 5 to 6 weeks at the moment. Based on comments on this site and others, I assume his name is derived from the magician in Richard Wagner’s … Read more >>
A second outing for new setter Picaroon (first seen on 16th March), and another entertaining puzzle. He/she seems to have a rather distinctive style, but I can’t quite put my finger on exactly … Read more >>
Monday Prize Crossword/May 7 Most Dante puzzles have at least one or two gems, but this one was rather standard – some might call it “typical Monday fare”. Not much to complain about, … Read more >>
Prize puzzle from the Weekend FT of May 5, 2012 While it sports a couple of fine clues — I would single out 11A (SADDLE-SORE) — I found this puzzle more of a … Read more >>
Rather harder than the usual Dac I thought, with one or two words that were less than familiar. But, as always, the sort of thing he serves up week after week, with never … Read more >>
The annual lunch for Times setters is taking place on 30th May and this will be followed by a Sloggers and Betters get-together in The Town of Ramsgate (62 Wapping High Street E1) … Read more >>
Easy for some. Old timers with find this easy, more of a ‘write in’ than a solve. However, I would not say this is an easy crossword for everyone as there are some obscure words … Read more >>