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 26,292 / Paul

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There was a lot of fun to be had in this puzzle – a mixture of pretty straightforward clues  [eg 12ac, 27ac, 1dn, 17dn], together with a number of anagrams to help things … Read more >>

Guardian 26,288 / Qaos

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A sunny morning made sunnier on seeing Qaos’ name on the puzzle I was down to blog. Lots of fun to be had here, with several penny-dropping moments and lots of Qaos’ customary … Read more >>

Guardian 26,281 / Rufus

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A fairly typical Rufus puzzle, with a number of neat anagrams and double definitions – though rather fewer cryptic definitions today. A couple of the double definitions are rather close in meaning but … Read more >>

Guardian 26,279 / Paul

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I haven’t been able to detect any encrypted references to the D-day landings  but, as ever, that doesn’t mean there aren’t any. Here is Paul in Mr Clean mode, with a puzzle that … Read more >>

Guardian 26,265 / Paul

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I started solving this puzzle before breakfast but had to break off and go and have some! Nothing too taxing but lots of fun and some lovely clues. Many thanks, Paul Across 1 … Read more >>

Guardian 26,249 / Picaroon

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Another box of delights from Picaroon, with numerous examples of his customary witty misdirection in the surfaces and ingenuity in the constructions. Not for the first time with this setter, the puzzle looked … Read more >>

Guardian 26,235 / Shed

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I don’t think there will be so many ‘too easy’ protests today but there might be some complaints about unusual words. In fact, however, this puzzle turned out to be less frightening than … Read more >>