February 2015 – Page 2 – Fifteensquared

Inquisitor 1373: Rules of Engagement by Ifor

February 25, 2015 at 12:01 am by duncanshiell

There was a fairly lengthy preamble to this weeks puzzle by Ifor. It stated "six clues whose answers share a general definition consist only of wordplay. These answers must be thematically changed to … Read more >>

Independent 8,849 by Knut

February 24, 2015 at 10:45 am by John

Knut made his debut only the other day. Now he appears again, and much of this continues the good start he made. There is a lot I don’t understand; my temptation is to say that some of the clues are a bit weak or unsound, but I don’t dare to because it’s far more likely that I’m missing things.

It’s a very strange grid — perfectly OK and no solecisms with the checking. Was this, together with the large number of clues, done in order to fit in some theme? If it was then I can’t see it.

Definitions underlined.

Financial Times 14,863 / Jason

February 24, 2015 at 9:32 am by Gaufrid

Whilst solving this one I felt that some of the definitions and/or parts of wordplay were a bit of a stretch but this didn’t prevent a speedy completion. However, there is still one clue … Read more >>

Guardian 26,503 by Nutmeg

February 24, 2015 at 3:41 am by manehi

Lots of fun today from Nutmeg, with plenty of misdirection – favourites were 24ac, 26ac, and 3/25dn.

Guardian 26,502 – Rufus

February 23, 2015 at 1:26 pmFebruary 23, 2015 at 9:14 am by Andrew

Eleven cryptic definitions out of 26 clues? I think that must be a record, even for a Rufus puzzle; and some of them are rather weak, or otherwise satisfactory, as noted below. So, … Read more >>

Quiptic 797 by Pan

February 23, 2015 at 8:33 pmFebruary 23, 2015 at 9:10 am by newmarketsausage

A nicely judged offering from Quiptic regular Pan.

A good variety of clue types, and some nice surface readings and touches of humour. All in all, a very enjoyable start to the cryptic week.

Independent 8848/Scorpion

February 23, 2015 at 2:29 pmFebruary 23, 2015 at 7:30 am by Pierre

Chuffing Nora. I keep telling the editor and setters that I only decided to put my name down to blog the Monday Indy because it was ‘the easy one’. … Read more >>

Beelzebub 1,302

February 22, 2015 at 8:00 am by Simon Harding

Quite a challenging week, I thought, though I did make life difficult for myself by absent-mindedly writing in SKIP at 23 across like a chump. It helped to know your Samoan currencies, as … Read more >>

Everyman 3567/15 February

February 22, 2015 at 12:01 am by Pierre

The usual Everyman mix of sound cluing and well-constructed surfaces. Abbreviations cd cryptic definition dd double definition (xxxx)* anagram anagrind = anagram indicator [x] letter(s) removed definitions are underlined … Read more >>

AZED 2,228/hi-tech

February 22, 2015 at 3:30 pmFebruary 22, 2015 at 12:01 am by ilancaron

I found this hard at first and didn’t make much headway until I’d cracked a couple of the long downs. Azed’s tech-knowledge surprised me a bit — so much so that I resisted both tech-centric answers until I could do so no longer.

Independent on Sunday 1,304 by Hypnos

February 22, 2015 at 12:00 am by PeeDee

I liked this grid with words all the way round the border, it is a long while since I saw one of these. Good to have the minimum of black space on the grid, value for money!

There are a couple of clues where I don’t quite get the wording, even though I’m sure I have the correct answer. Thanks to Hypnos for an enjoyable Sunday solve.

Independent 8,841 by Nestor (Saturday Prize Puzzle, 21/02/15)

February 21, 2015 at 12:51 pmFebruary 21, 2015 at 2:00 am by Simon Harding

Nestor has sometimes been described as one of the easier of the Saturday Independent setters. I guess these things are relative, as I found this one quite a challenge. Still, I got there … Read more >>

Guardian Prize No 26,495 by Paul

February 21, 2015 at 7:25 amFebruary 21, 2015 at 12:05 am by bridgesong

An alphabetical jigsaw – with rhyming couplets, no less! – to celebrate what would have been Araucaria’s 94th birthday on Monday of this week.

Enigmatic Variations No. 1160: Around Eve by Nod

February 21, 2015 at 12:01 am by mc_rapper67

A nice short preamble…only 24 clues…this should be a doddle! But hang on, what is going on with the grid? No bars, no grid numbers, except 1-12 along the ‘axes’. No clue enumerations … Read more >>

Guardian 26,500 – Puck

February 20, 2015 at 10:07 amFebruary 20, 2015 at 8:49 am by Andrew

Some good Puckish fun today – nicely positioned in difficulty, but with a twist… … as well as some cross-referencing between clues, there’s a theme of clues that are, or use, some of … Read more >>