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 24,564 / Brendan

by

The usual entertainment value from this Brendan puzzle, with its elegant surfaces, clever anagrams and cunningly hidden answers. It included four reiterative phrases neatly placed around the perimeter, plus another one at 13ac, … Read more >>

Guardian 24, 557 set by Logodaedalus

by

I don’t remember seeing  a Logodaedalus puzzle for a while, so it’s a welcome return. I found this pretty straightforward, with some nice surfaces and anagrams, although I have a couple of quibbles. … Read more >>

GUARDIAN 24,540 / PUCK

by

I’m sure there’s a witty title that could be given to this very ingenious and entertaining puzzle, with its themes of days and British pop but I found the puzzle itself challenging enough!  … Read more >>

Guardian 24518/Rufus

by

A pretty straightforward puzzle from Rufus,  with no real ‘complications’ [one of two rather weak clues, I thought] and perhaps fewer cryptic clues than usual. dd: double definition cd: cryptic definition [*]: anagram … Read more >>

Guardian 24502/Orlando

by

I think I’m fortunate to have been allocated a reasonable puzzle for my first blog – straightforward and fair without being too easy to be interesting. A couple of old crossword favourites, 12ac … Read more >>