Phew. Not a bit of leftover turkey or a stale mince pie in sight.
Year: 2015
Guardian Cryptic 26765 by Paul
A very enjoyable puzzle – many thanks Paul. Favourites 19ac, 22ac, 27ac, 6dn, and 17dn.
Everyman 3611/20 December
My fellow blogger flashling commented that last week’s Everyman was harder than usual. I would echo that today. Abbreviations cd cryptic definition dd double definition (xxxx)* anagram anagrind = anagram … Read more >>
Independent 1348 by Poins
Straightforward definitions but some of the constructions were tricky to parse. Thank you Poins.
Enigmatic Variations 1204: Rest by Mynot
After struggling through a few blank-ish jigsaw EVs recently, I was hoping for a REST…and so it seemed to be…until I realised that Mynot had given me FOUR mini-jigsaws!… Sets of four clues … Read more >>
Financial Times 15122 by GAFF
A themed offering for Christmas from Gaff.
Guardian 26,763 – Paul
Lots of Christmassy references in the clues from Paul today, and not too hard a puzzle for those who have a lot of other things to do. Thanks to Paul, and Merry Christmas … Read more >>
Independent 9109 / Quixote
A fairly gentle offering from Quixote for Christmas Eve Quixote was in a benevolent mode I think with this puzzle. Lots of anagrams -eight in total, container and contents clues … Read more >>
Financial Times 15121 by LOROSO
Great stuff – and a proper mental workout. Thank you Loroso.
Independent 9108 by eXternal
No Dac today I’m afraid, even though it isn’t the last Wednesday of the month. Christmas I suppose. But this is perfectly serviceable and fills the gap very satisfactorily. It seems that most of the parsings are straightforward and can be given in one short expression, and there doesn’t seem to me to be anything controversial. Some slightly unusual anagram indicators, perhaps.
Definitions underlined.
Guardian 26,762 / Nutmeg
I invariably find the preamble to be the most difficult part of the blog to write and today is no exception. What can I say that hasn’t been said before? Good surfaces, good … Read more >>
Financial Times 15,113 – Falcon
Monday Prize Crossword / Dec 14, 2015
Enjoyable but very easy start to another FT week with lots of anagrams.
Financial Times 15,112 by Gaff
Prize puzzle from the Weekend FT of December 12, 2015
Inquisitor 1416: Can Henry? by Kruger
A carte blanche grid, so no bars and no numbers, but at least the clues have length indications and are in normal order. However, two entries are unclued, and there are a few … Read more >>
Independent 9107 / Knut
Knut seems to be trying out a few new tricks on us in this puzzle. There were a number of clues which we solved once we had some crossing letters but it took … Read more >>