Much as you may have wished it, Eileen has not hijacked the blog, and you are stuck with me in my turn today. The puzzle may be found at http://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/cryptic/26491.
Year: 2015
Independent 8836 by Kairos
I found this quite challenging and it took a couple of goes to complete it. However, once you saw the solution, most of the clues seemed sound and gettable, which the possible exception … Read more >>
Guardian 26,490 / Rufus
Don’t worry – this is not a complete take-over of the Guardian blogging slot: because of the way the rota works, my monthly Prize blog coincided with the overlap of the weekly ones, … Read more >>
Guardian Quiptic 795 Hectence
A nice easy Quiptic. Thanks to Hectence. Definitions are underlined in the clues. (P.S. Due to urgent matters to attend to, the blog today is minimalist.) Across 1 Head of flight’s stuff is found on … Read more >>
Beelzebub 1,300
Probably somewhere in the middle of the difficulty range this week, I seemed to find. We’ve reached a bit of a landmark, with a nice round puzzle number, but I didn’t spot any … Read more >>
Azed 2226 – Playfair
I’m glad to see I’m not the only blogger who gets worried when landing on a Playfair puzzle. “I admit to a slight feeling of trepidation when I … noticed that it was … Read more >>
Independent on Sunday 1302/eXternal
I’m not really sure what to make of this one. You tell me. It’s not a bad puzzle by any means, but there were a few that were difficult to … Read more >>
Everyman 3,565
The puzzle may be found at http://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/everyman/3565.
S&B Cambridge – 25/4/15
According to the National Rail Enquiries website, the only trains running to/from Cambridge on April 25th will be those from/to London and Norwich. There will be a replacement bus service between Peterborough and … Read more >>
Independent Crossword 8829 by Tees (31-01-2015)
A Tees crossword blogged from a few miles north of the Tyne. Also a lot of black squares this week – was there an excess of ink at the Independent? Well plenty of … Read more >>
Guardian Prize 26,483 / Philistine
The first Philistine puzzle this year and it’s many months since I got to blog one, so this was a real treat for me. I don’t think it’s Philistine at his toughest but … Read more >>
Enigmatic Variations 1158 Fool’s Mate by Ifor
All occurrences of a letter to be removed from all down answers; Five across answers to be jumbled and a message derived from the remainder. Not finished there – the message explains how to … Read more >>
Independent 8,834 by Phi
As I said when posting last week, I am always slow to begin Phi’s crosswords, but then everything becomes clear and you wonder why there were any difficulties, because it all fits together fine and one is left wondering what the problem ever was. Perhaps that’s the mark of a good setter.
I have given up having more than a cursory glance (which of course failed to find anything here) to see if Phi has given us a Nina, since his — if they exist at all — are always so difficult to see. No doubt …
Definitions underlined.
Guardian 26,488 / Brummie
I didn’t know what to expect after a quite remarkable week of puzzles, so, before I went to bed, I sneaked a look at the Guardian website to see who awaited me in … Read more >>
Financial Times 14,848 by BRADMAN
Bradman’s puzzle today was teasingly difficult. I solved it in 2 sittings amidst a very hectic day at work so probably didnt stand to appreciate it as much others might have. Thanks to the Don for a mostly straightforward solve.