Andrew

A typicla Rufus, with lots of double and cryptic definitions – some of the latter rather weak or vague for my taste. Also a few examples of words or devies being used more … Read more >>

An enjoyable puzzle from Crucible, with lots of links to the key answer at 3,23,25, which luckily I got early on (working back from 24a). Just one homophonic quibble, but otherwise very soundly … Read more >>

I must have been on Picaroon’s wavelength today, because this all went in very smoothly, even though in retrospect there are a few quite involved clues. (In contrast, I found myself struggling much … Read more >>

After yesterday’s expert duffing-up by Vlad I was expecting (or hoping for?) something a little gentler today, but I found this one pretty hard too. However, it was soundly and accurately clued (apart … Read more >>

I started off slowly on this one (for no obvious reason), but it yielded steadily, making a very enjoyable and satisfying solve. Thanks to Shed.             Across 9. … Read more >>

A very characteristic Rufus puzzle, with lots of double and cryptic definitions. These can sometimes cause a bit of a hold-up, but I found this a very quick solve, with lots of write-ins. … Read more >>

Tramp rounds off an excellent, if challenging, week in fine style with a puzzle teeming with references to Alfred Hitchcock and his films, though I think there’s only one place where knowledge of … Read more >>

We haven’t seen a lot of Bonxie lately – his last apeparance was in April, after a gap of a year and a half, so it’s perhaps difficult to get a feel for … Read more >>

I romped through most of this fairly quickly, with just a few hold-ups at the end. One word that was new to me, though easy to guess from the cue and crossing letters, … Read more >>

I found this a bit harder than usual for a Rufus, with a few quibbles, as detailed below. Thanks to the setter.             Across 1. ATTACHE CASE Stick … Read more >>

A welcome return by Tramp after a couple of months’ absence, and a very enjoyable – and quite challenging – puzzle … …based around the film Jaws, which is forty years old this … Read more >>

I took a while to get started on this, but then everything quickly fell into place, with just a delay at the end to get the (rather unhelpfully clued, I thought) intersecting pair … Read more >>

I usually don’t have too much trouble with Paul’s puzzles these days, but I found this one hard to get started on, and then hard to finish. Looking back, there’s nothing particularly obscure, … Read more >>