A mixed bag from Gozo, mostly easy clues but some hard ones. Thank you Gozo.
Month: January 2022
Independent 11004 / Skinny
Skinny is a setter who doesn’t appear very often in the Independent series. The most recent Skinny puzzle was published last November. Wednesday is usually a theme- and message-free day, … Read more >>
Financial Times 16,995 by BOBCAT
My second Bobcat and he's lost none of his feline cunning.
Inquisitor 1733: Mirror Image IV by Serpent
Serpent continues his Mirror Image sequence in this week’s puzzle. The first two Mirror Image puzzles were based on paintings by Salvador Dali (Swans reflecting Elephants) and Barnett Newman (Onement … Read more >>
Independent 11,003 by Wiglaf
Slightly tricky from Wiglaf today, I thought – a few rather obscure definitions. But maybe that’s just me.
Guardian Cryptic 28,657 by Matilda
An enjoyable solve with some tricky bits of parsing. Favourites were 10ac, 13ac, 26ac, 3dn, and 9dn. Thanks to Matilda for the puzzle
Quiptic 1,157 by Pan
A well-designed Quiptic: the usual tricks for beginners to learn, and nothing too obscure.
Guardian 28,656 – Vulcan
Lots of helpful anagrams and other straightforward constructions here (and not a single cryptic definition), making a puzzle that would be good for “beginners and those in a hurry”, to borrow the Quiptic’s … Read more >>
Financial Times 16,994 by FALCON
It’s been a while since we had a Falcon puzzle on a Monday. Very enjoyable. Thanks to Falcon!
Independent 11,002/Shabbo
Shabbo made his Indy debut on 1 June 2020 and has contributed since to both the daily and Sunday versions. This was very much in line with the previous offerings: tightly clued, one … Read more >>
Private Eye (Cyclops/719) Glorious Misinformation
Happy New Year. A relative gentle start to 2022 for Eye solvers compared to that Christmas monster for which great thanks to mc_rapper67 for the stupendous blog. Top half and many others solved … Read more >>
Everyman 3,926/9 January
Another solid and tractable puzzle from Everyman to accompany my Sunday morning coffee. Abbreviations cd cryptic definition dd double definition cad clue as definition (xxxx)* anagram anagrind = anagram indicator [x] letter(s) removed … Read more >>
Independent on Sunday 1664 Tees
Thank you to Tees. Definitions are underlined in the clues. Across 1. Hit hard — huge anticlimax (6) BATHOS : BAT(to hit, with, well, a bat) + H(abbrev. for “hard”) + OS(abbrev. for … Read more >>
Azed No. 2,587 Plain
A plain offering this week, and not overly difficult. Thank you Azed.
Independent 11,001 by Serpent
A Serpent puzzle to tie us up in knots this Saturday.