My third blog here in two days and second today.
Independent 8915 / Scorpion
As soon as we saw that it was Scorpion today, we thought there might be a hidden theme. When we started looking at the clues, it was clear that there was a … Read more >>
Month: May 2015
Guardian Quiptic 808/Anto
A new Quiptic setter today, to whom welcome. However, he or she is not going to welcome my thoughts on the puzzle that appeared as a Quiptic today. This can be a brutal … Read more >>
Cyclops 546: Post-electoral tristesse
It felt strange to be solving this knowing that, by the time I finalised the blog, the election results would be known and some of the political references within the puzzle would be … Read more >>
Independent on Sunday 1,315 by Poins
There’s a consistency to Poins’ puzzles that makes this setter seem very much at home in the IoS, but which does make it very difficult to find a great deal new to say … Read more >>
Everyman 3,578
Everyman with the usual easy-ish crossword
Beelzebub 1313
Some (read quite a few) new words for me today, in fact more than usual for a Beelzebub, but there was one entry with which I am very familiar having lived in 30ac, … Read more >>
Azed 2239 ‘Spoonerisms’
In a way (but only a way) my heart sank when I saw what I was going to have to blog: Azed’s specials are always excellent but take ages and are often very complicated. I was unsure that I’d be able to cope, but it’s all done now and any mistakes have now been made, I’m afraid.
It’s a long preamble, which I won’t repeat, except to say that there are two types of clue, occurring in more or less equal numbers. In half of them (and in these clues I’ve put (D) by the answer) you have to define the answer by finding a spoonerism in the clue. In the other half, which I found more difficult, certainly at the start — I had about ten of the first type before I got any of this type — the clue leads to a spoonerism of the answer, which is always a word in Chambers. So in these cases the answer isn’t actually defined and perhaps that’s what makes it so difficult to get started on them. In the first case the subsidiary indication is normal and in the second it leads to the actual word in the answer, not the spoonerism of it.
Really good. Definitions underlined.
Sloggers & Betters, York 2015? Show of hands, please!
A message from John Henderson …
The possibility of a S&B in York in October along the same lines as the 2014 event was mentioned by a number of people at the recent get-together in Cambridge. I’m more than happy to put this together if there is a consensus, and have checked that the same venue that we used last year is available again. To avoid event clashes, the date would have to be a week earlier than last year’s fixture, so before I go ahead, please could I have a show of hands for Saturday, October 24? Naturally, for those wishing to make a weekend of it, there would be a quizzical Ale Trail on the Friday night, and a “Recovery” session on the Sunday morning at the York Tap…
Independent 8907 / Donk
It’s a Donk – at long last! Checking through our posts, it’s over a year since we had the pleasure of blogging a Donk. When we were away in February we missed Donk’s puzzle … Read more >>
Guardian Prize 26,561 by Puck
Super puzzle from Puck, though a couple of the answers went in from wordplay without any clear idea of the definition. For the blog Wikipedia came to my rescue. Thank you Puck.
Enigmatic Variations No.1171 – Who Am I? by Ifor
The preamble to WHO AM I? is quite intimidating. There are two verses to be identified. The first explains changes to two groups of three clues each, a phrase to be highlighted, and the answer to the titular question, which is to be written under the grid. The second is given by extra letters in wordplay in 29 clues, and it identifies the number of the single normal clue and the rationale for the removal of the letters. Got that?
Financial Times 14,925 by BRADMAN
A tough crossword from Bradman this, with a couple of words I have never had the pleasure of coming across before. If at all there was a theme in this puzzle, it would have been “Difficulty”! 🙂 Unusually mysterious crossword for the likes of the Don. It was an impossible complete-solve for me without using some digital help. Nevertheless, it was a fun-filled experience!
Guardian Cryptic 26566 Picaroon
(Please click here for this same blog but with a picture quiz added. Please do NOT post hereinbelow any comment relating to the picture quiz. Thank you.) An enjoyable puzzle, tricky in some … Read more >>