I would put this at the easier end of the Guardian spectrum; the clue constructions are generally straightforward, with finely crafted surfaces. All in all, just the kind of puzzle that I an happy to see when it is my turn to blog. Thank you, Pasquale.
Month: July 2012
Inquisitor 1236: 1 to 38 by Phi
A fairly painless puzzle this week. The route from 1 to 38 [unclued] may be deduced from the letters that are ignored in the wordplay to 12 clues together with the other unclued … Read more >>
Financial Times 14052 Jason
An easy enough puzzle, until I got bogged down with the last one in; there were some unusual and challenging definitions. Thanks Jason. Definitions are underlined in the clues. [[The pictures at the … Read more >>
Independent / 8030 Scorpion
An interesting themed puzzle today, with the themed items generally forming part of the wordplay rather than the answers themselves. This made it a bit trickier than other themed puzzles where you can … Read more >>
Guardian 25,684 – Philistine
A very enjoyable and mixed bag of goodies which will challenge you and make you grin at times. Most entertaining … … and I like the way some of the clues are cross-referenced … Read more >>
Guardian Genius 109 – placeholder
I shall be blogging this puzzle once the deadline for submissions has passed. Solvers who are struggling with it may care to note the slight amendment to the enumeration of certain of the … Read more >>
Guardian Quiptic 660/Arachne
A fine Quiptic from Arachne – everything clearly clued, a good range of devices, no obscurities, and some wit thrown in for good measure. I’m sure others will have enjoyed this as much … Read more >>
Independent 8029 by Quixote
*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone, CD=cryptic def, DD=double def, sp=spoonerism This was just the right level to be fairly challenging to less experienced solvers, although unlikely to cause problems for the more experienced. As … Read more >>
Guardian Cryptic 25683 Rufus
Another Monday Rufus in his standard easy style. Thanks Rufus. Definitions are underlined in the clues. [[Pictures at the bottom have an identified link to the puzzle. As usual, please double-bracket any comment … Read more >>
Private Eye/Cyclops 472 Stylish tyranny
Back to a slightly tougher crossword this time. At least that’s how I found it, both to get started and to find those last pesky couple of answers. I’ll admit after getting started, … Read more >>
Beelzebub 1,165
Pretty much a mid-paced week in terms of difficulty, I think. Lots of unfamiliar terms to work out, so very satisfying to polish off. I think everything made sense, though I’m not 100% … Read more >>
Independent on Sunday 1,167 by Raich
Great stuff as always from Raich. I found a couple of terms slightly unfamiliar, such as at 10ac and 5dn, but in all cases the wordplay was unambiguous. I didn’t spot any themes … Read more >>
Azed 2091/ Plain Competition Puzzle
This was a standard competition puzzle from AZED. None of the entries were particularly difficult to parse. As is the case with many of AZED‘s puzzle there was a determined raid on words … Read more >>
Everyman 3430 – 1 July 2012
The Trafites are on a well-earned holiday this week – I trust I can be a worthy substitute… The nice thing about blogging a puzzle is that one has to spend a bit more … Read more >>
Independent Crossword 8022 by ANAX (Saturday Prize Puzzle 30-06-2012)
So my first blog of an Anax puzzle – should be fun and hopefully have a theme, or even two and a good few chuckles along the way? Indeed it was fun (and … Read more >>