January 2016 – Page 5 – Fifteensquared

Independent 9122 by Bend (Saturday Prize Puzzle 9 January 2016)

Sat January 16, 2016 at 12:01 am by mc_rapper67

A new (to me, at least) setter this week – were you driven ’round the bend’ by Bend?… I have to admit I am a prize-puzzle-tart, and don’t solve during the week, but … Read more >>

Enigmatic Variations No.1207 – Mix by Samuel

Sat January 16, 2016 at 12:50 pmSat January 16, 2016 at 12:00 am by Mister Sting

This EV uses alphabetically listed clued that have to be slotted in to the grid. That normally means quite a bit of cold solving. The danger is that one can feel one isn’t getting anywhere. That said, I do have a soft spot for Samuel’s EVs, so I have confidence that this will be enjoyable.

Financial Times 15,138 by WANDERER

Fri January 15, 2016 at 9:43 pmFri January 15, 2016 at 12:05 pm by Turbolegs

As Smeagol would have said, this one from Wanderer was tricksy !! 🙂 Thanks Wanderer for a wonderful humbling experience. The frustration when it came to parsing some of the clues was only surpassed by the delight I felt when I finally did. Especially 1ac.

Independent 9127 / Phi

Fri January 15, 2016 at 7:30 am by duncanshiell

It wouldn’t be a proper Friday for Independent crossword solvers if there wasn’t a puzzle by Phi This was a fairly standard crossword from Phi. I didn’t see any obvious … Read more >>

Guardian Cryptic 26,781 by Paul

Fri January 15, 2016 at 2:10 am by PeterO

The puzzle may be found at http://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/cryptic/26781.

Independent 9,126 by Klingsor

Thu January 14, 2016 at 10:37 am by John

Klingsor seems to be lumbered with me rather often nowadays. Not that this worries me. I’d be happy to blog his puzzles every time (apart from the odd holiday with some of the other setters) because he’s one of the best around. There is always the right level of difficulty for me: not too easy, but the surfaces are nice and everything is clear and sound; one can eventually solve his most intractable clues. I think.

Definitions underlined.

Guardian 26,780 / Picaroon

Thu January 14, 2016 at 5:56 pmThu January 14, 2016 at 9:36 am by Eileen

I said yesterday that I was rather disappointed not to get Crucible’s puzzle to blog. And now here’s a cracker from another of my top favourite setters, on top form, sparkling with his … Read more >>