Andrew

Chifonie steps in on one of the occasional non-Rufus Mondays with a straightforward but nicely clued puzzle.             Across 1. PLAICE I in PLACE 4. TWO-BIT OB (Old … Read more >>

Another clever themed puzzle from Brendan, this time based on (mostly elementary) mathematics. Amazingly, just about every clue and answer has mathematical connections – a brilliant feat. Maybe my mathematical background helps, but … Read more >>

My second posthumous puzzle in a row – Quantum died in May 2008 – and sadly another one that I can’t be very enthusiastic about. Most of the clues are fine, though not … Read more >>

Rover, aka Ian Morgan, died on 31 May at the age of 78 – see the posting under “Announcements”, and also the editor’s newsletter on the Guardian crossword site. I, and others, have … Read more >>

Very easy Bank Holiday fare from Rufus today, though with the usual wit and elegant surface readings.           Across 1. INCURIOUS INCUR I.O.U.S 6. CAWS [MA]CAWS 8. APERITIF (FIT … Read more >>

There were no Audreus puzzles for over a year, but now we’ve had two from her in fairly quick succession (the last was on 9th April). On past form it’s a fairly safe … Read more >>

Another cleverly-themed puzzle from Brendan, with a lot of very nice clues. I particularly liked the misleading definitions in 7 and 8 dn. I can’t fully explain 12ac – suggestion welcome.     … Read more >>

I’m sorry to say I didn’t know the quotation in 2/4/3dn, but I guessed the source, looked it up and quickly found the relevant part. Once that was in there wasn’t a huge … Read more >>

With no disrespect to Enigmatist, I was surprised to see him as the setter of this momentously-numbered puzzle: like others I was expecting an Araucaria special, or perhaps a Rufus in honour of … Read more >>

I found this mostly pretty easy for a Friday Araucaria, especially after getting 1ac immediately. Lots of the usual Araucaria wit, and two very clever &lits (though both with minor flaws), and no … Read more >>

A very mixed bag from Rover, though mostly very easy. There were a few clues that I liked, but a lot of rather weak or dubious cryptic definitions, and various other niggles. There’s … Read more >>

My limited knowledge of a certain group of people and the works of one its members was exercised by Brendan today in a typically clever and enjoyable puzzle, with just one slight weakness … Read more >>

Somehow I found parts of this harder than usual with Rufus, though on looking back there’s nothing particularly tricky. Unusually there are only two pure cryptic definitions here; less unusually a smattering of … Read more >>