Eileen

I’ve been doing cryptic crosswords since university days, learning how with a group of friends in coffee breaks. The Guardian crossword has been part of my life for most of the time since. Since retiring from teaching (originally Classics and, subsequently, when that was dropped from the curriculum, mostly English and History), having serendipitously stumbled on 15², I discovered that I could get the Indy and FT puzzles online and so I now add those, when they are set by my favourite compilers. Occasionally, I try the Genius and have even submitted a few. (Some years ago, I won a Collins dictionary in the Guardian Prize lottery, which established it as my referred reference.) I don’t take note of solving times: I enjoy taking time savouring the construction and particularly the surface of clues and always feel slightly disappointed when I finish too quickly. My one regret is my complete failure to enthuse any member of my family with cryptic crosswords.

Guardian 27,469 / Nutmeg

by

A typically elegant and witty offering from Nutmeg – my thanks to her for an enjoyable puzzle. Definitions are underlined in the clues. Across 9 Cut, but not polished, when suggested? (5-4) ROUGH-HEWN … Read more >>

Guardian 27,455 / Arachne

by

Sheer delight to find an Arachne puzzle this morning. I don’t think it’s too difficult, so there’s something here for everyone to enjoy – as always, lots of sparkling 1ac, with ingenious, witty  … Read more >>

Guardian 27,448 / Chifonie

by

It’s Chifonie filling the Monday slot again with a typically pleasant and elegant puzzle, with some beautifully smooth surfaces. Mostly straightforward but, unusually for this setter, there are a couple of places where … Read more >>

Guardian 27,446 / Puck

by

Quite a challenge from Puck this morning – and a most enjoyable one, too. Many thanks to him for the fun. [I do hope there’s not a ghost theme or Nina as well.] … Read more >>

Guardian 27,432 / Brummie

by

A fun puzzle from Brummie this morning. I wasn’t getting very far with this, having only 11ac in the across clues but the combination at 6,15, 7 and 13,24 opened things up nicely … Read more >>

Guardian 27,425 / Vlad

by

A most enjoyable challenge from Vlad this morning. A puzzle brimming with intricate constructions and well-hidden definitions, leading to some rather tricky bits of parsing and lots of smiles as the pennies dropped. … Read more >>

Guardian Prize / 27,417 / Paul

by

What you might call a cerebral offering from Paul this week. I found this a very satisfying solve for a Prize puzzle: the answers revealed themselves at a steady rate, with time to … Read more >>

Guardian 27,418 / Pan

by

Pan continues to settle comfortably into the Monday slot. I enjoyed this solve of a generally straightforward puzzle, with enough quirks – unexpected definitions at 8 and 9ac, nifty devices at 12ac and … Read more >>

Guardian 27,416 / Boatman

by

It’s not giving anything away to say that we have a fishy offering from Boatman this morning. One good thing about blogging this was that there was no fear of missing a hidden … Read more >>

Guardian 27.409 / Paul

by

There was a strong whiff of  déjà vu about solving and  blogging this puzzle. It’s just four weeks since I blogged a Paul puzzle on the theme of ‘scorers’ – on that occasion … Read more >>

Guardian 27,402 / Qaos

by

It’s eighteen months since I blogged a Qaos puzzle so I was very pleased to see this one. Qaos puzzles usually have a theme – often a ghost one. This time, GHOST is … Read more >>