A mixed bag of difficulty here.
Independent 10,541 by Klingsor
This kept me contented for the best part of an hour. In the end I had to look up the Czech river – I have never heard of this one, but I won’t … Read more >>
beermagnet
Private Eye (Cyclops / 680) Obnoxious Nobody
It had to happen sometime – I have finally solved one of these in one pass. It took about half hour – I was making notes for the blog as I went so … Read more >>
Independent 10,511 by Bluth
Better come clean and admit it – I’m a Dave Gorman fan … … ever since I saw his Googlewhack Adventure show at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2003. Early in that show he … Read more >>
Private Eye (Cyclops / 678) Wealth, Unexplained
Solving kicked of quickly with 1A proving to be a write-in for me. The rest of the puzzle wasn’t so easy, only a couple of others cold solved, most others gettable with 1 … Read more >>
Private Eye (Cyclops / 676) Downing Street Laxity
Cyclops is on a run of relatively easy crosswords lately. This one got finished within the half-hour. Top right quadrant complete and two-thirds filled in by the end of the first pass at … Read more >>
Independent 10,481 (Sat 16-May 2020) by Morph
Pleased to see a Morph puzzle this time. I haven’t blogged one for years and I always find them entertaining. Also, they don’t offer the fear of not finishing. 1 Across is a … Read more >>
Private Eye (Cyclops / 674) Quarantine Crisis
A fairly standard Eye this time. Enjoyable but not difficult. Whistled through solving this. Only 4 unsolved after the first pass and the whole thing wrapped up in under half an hour including … Read more >>
Independent 10,451 by Tyrus
I find I am repeating myself – this one was tough. It took me at least three separate solving sessions and I gave up timing how long – it was well over 2 … Read more >>
Private Eye (Cyclops/672) Upfront Whopper
A much more accessible puzzle this time. Nothing here to trouble us much. Almost a record solve with only 3 left to do after the first pass and they were scattered around so … Read more >>
Independent 10421 by Tyrus (Sat 7-Mar 2020)
This one was very tough. I seem to be saying this more and more – maybe it’s me and not so much the puzzles. As ever I’m very happy to tackle a Tyrus … Read more >>
Private Eye ( Cyclops/670 ) Continental Deterrent
A tougher crossword this time – least ways that’s the way I found it. It has some top-notch clues and it was worth re-reading them to do this blog. When I started solving … Read more >>
Independent 10,391 by Dalibor (Sat 01-Feb 2020)
I found this pretty tough. Maybe Dalibor’s puzzles are getting tougher. His clueing is as sound as ever and clue surfaces continue to tell stories in little vignettes. I see from my notes … Read more >>
Independent 10361 by Tyrus (Sat 28-Dec 2019)
Very tricky stuff from Tyrus today. It is no secret that it has a theme – the answer to 23D/8 is referenced in many clues and forms the definition for several. I could … Read more >>
Private Eye (Cyclops/665) Offensive Utterance
One of those Eye puzzles that I found difficult to finish despite getting most of it early on. In my notes I marked 16 as solved on first reading. 1d was a lovely … Read more >>