Guardian Prize 28,243 by Philistine
More delightful cluemanship on display in this week’s puzzle in what used to be the prize slot. It’s always a pleasure to see Philistine’s name on a puzzle, and this one didn’t disappoint. … Read more >>
Month: September 2020
Independent 10,594 / Phi
Friday is Phi-day, and here he is with his latest puzzle. This was a medium-difficulty puzzle on an unusual grid, one that incorporates a larger number of longer entries. I haven’t spotted any … Read more >>
Guardian Cryptic 28,248 by Nutmeg
The puzzle may be found at https://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/cryptic/28248. Mostly on the simpler side – for a Nutmeg – but with a couple of definitely tricky parses. In all beautifully crafted. ACROSS 1 WARTHOG Wild … Read more >>
Financial Times 16,591 by BRADMAN
A typical Friday BRADMAN challenge. Thanks Don. FF: 8 DD : 7 ACROSS 1 TERMINAL Time to acquire Zola’s work, ignoring the beginning and the end (8) T ( time ) gERMINAL … Read more >>
Guardian 28,247 / Qaos
Well, this should have been the last day of my walking holiday in Mallorca but finding the name of one of my favourite setters above the puzzle I was down to blog went … Read more >>
Financial Times 16,590 by GOLIATH
A pangrammatic puzzle from Goliath in today's FT. When I looked at the clue to 1 across, my heart sank as it looked really contrived at first glance. I worked my way through … Read more >>
Independent 10593 / Hob
Hob provides the Independent puzzle challenge today. This puzzle is a celebration of the 75th birthday today of JOHN RUTTER, a composer whose works focus on pieces for choirs (SINGERS) … Read more >>
Enigmatic Variations No. 1452: Bridges by X-Type
Hello and welcome to you all, with a special welcome if you are a new solver who has been tempted to dip your toes into the wonderful world of the EV. The water … Read more >>
Financial Times 16,580 by Mudd
Non-prize puzzle from the Weekend FT of September 12, 2020 This proved to be my slowest solve in ages with the bottom-right quadrant being the part that challenged me most. My favourite clue … Read more >>
Financial Times 16,589 by MONK
A tricky one from Monk. A very satisfying puzzle if you have the time. Thank you Monk. Around the outside is MORNINGTON CRESCENT. This is a “game” played on the radio panel show … Read more >>
Guardian Cryptic 28,246 by Boatman
An enjoyable and tricky solve, and I'm still not too sure about some of the parsing. Favourites were 10ac, 26ac, 6dn, and 13dn. Thanks to Boatman I also enjoyed the obvious theme in … Read more >>
Independent 10,592 by Tees
As so often nowadays, a tidy crossword from Tees with some very nice clues. Nothing too difficult, but still I had to think quite hard at times. Definitions in indiared, underlined. Anagram indicators … Read more >>
Inquisitor 1664: Codenames by Phi
Phi – not seen for a while. Preamble: Answers to italicised clues are entered in a letter-substitution code. The clue answer is composed of letters in a name, and the entry (also … Read more >>
Independent 10,591 by Dill
We have not blogged a Dill puzzle before, so we looked forward to the challenge We found it a fairly straightforward solve, although we had to check 23ac, which was a new word … Read more >>
Guardian 28,245 – Brummie
I learned a couple of new words today, though both were gettable/guessable from their anagrams and some crossing letters. I started off quickly with this one but struggled a bit towards the end. … Read more >>