Ali

I solved this online last night and haven’t seen the paper today, so not sure of the setter I’m afraid. There’s an interesting, entertaining mix of clues – some easy, some harder and … Read more >>

This was a belter of a puzzle, with every clue containing the word ‘number’. The fact that this word can be interepreted in, ahem, a number of different ways (quantity, music, anaesthetic, etc.), … Read more >>

A mercifully gentle end to a tough week. There were one or two answers I wasn’t immediately sure about, but solid clueing as always from Phi. Across 1 SACK – Straight DD to … Read more >>

This was a stiff challenge for a weekday I thought, particularly the right-hand side of the grid which was all but empty after my first attempt. Managed to chip away at it eventually, … Read more >>

Silly me, I forgot that I’d be nowhere near a PC all day today, so I set about solving this one online at midnight in a bid to get it blogged before bed. … Read more >>

I found this pretty tough going, not least because I completely failed to see what was going on until very late on. The theme is the Old Testamant (6D), books of which can … Read more >>

So now we know why Phi was ousted from his usual Friday slot. Today sees the release of the much-advertised new Batman movie, The Dark Knight, and the completed grid here has a … Read more >>

After the recent US Open puzzle, here we have another crossword themed around one of golf’s 4 majors. For the non sporty amongst you, The British 3/4 starts today at 16/8, with the … Read more >>

Fairly easy today, I thought. No major stumbling blocks, but some very nice clues as always from Dac. Across 1 SOAP DISH – ‘One with role of bar keeper’ is a nice definition … Read more >>

A nice games-themed puzzle today. A number of references in clues and I spotted at least ten in answers scattered throughout the grid. Across 1 BOWLS – B,OWLS 4 TIC TAC TOE – … Read more >>

Definitely harder than the average Dac I thought, with some lesser known words here and there. Good clues as ever though. Across 1 SCANDALISE – SCAN,DALIS,E[-xhibition] 7 CAWS – “Cause” – Caws being … Read more >>

I found this tough going for a mid-week puzzle. I’ve never come across a few of the answers before and some clues are still a bit baffling. Across 8 ZULU – As in … Read more >>

More great stuff from the mid-week master, with some class clues along the way. A very enjoyable way to spend a bus journey to work. Across 1 CASELOAD – CASE,LOAD – “Bar work” … Read more >>

Inventive stuff as per usual from Punk. A nice mix of clues – some easy, some harder, some cheeky and some just downright inspired. I struggled with the NW corner and there are … Read more >>

I struggled to get going with this, only solving one of the Across clues on my first pass. A few nice, long cryptic definitions eventually got the ball rolling and everything else then … Read more >>