Independent 10332 by Monk (Sat 23-Nov 2019)
What a pleasure solving a Monk puzzle is. There are always some great clues and interesting wordplay to tease out. However it was quite hard. Hard to finish. I got about a dozen … Read more >>
beermagnet
Private Eye (Cyclops /663) Outlook: Rancid
A reasonably swift solve for this Eye puzzle I nearly managed my first ever “complete on first pass” but it was not to be. ( I define the end of the first pass … Read more >>
Independent 10,302 by Dalibor (Sat 19-October)
Dalibor first came to my attention from the crosswords produced for crossword meets over the last few years – many of them thankfully available from links from this site (hopefully some appearing in … Read more >>
Private Eye (Cyclops/661) Apeman Politics
This one took somewhat longer than usual but I think that was just me having an off day. Less than half done after an uncharacteristically long 30 minute first pass. It didn’t start … Read more >>
Private Eye (Cyclops/659) Unhealthy Obsession
This was about medium difficulty for an Eye puzzle. I had about half done by the end of the first pass at about the 25 min mark, but had queered the top right … Read more >>
Independent 10,272 by Radian (Sat 14-Sep 2019)
A relatively easy puzzle for a Saturday. None the worse for that of course, with plenty to enjoy throughout the solid clues. There is a “Last Night of the Proms” theme with “Rule … Read more >>
Private Eye (Cyclops/657) Immoral Minister
We are in very strange times being ruled by an unelected buffoon, so the clue to 20/6 will pin this puzzle to a very narrow time window, hopefully. Solving went steadily with about … Read more >>
Independent 10,242 by Serpent (Saturday 10th August)
Serpent’s Saturday slot slides around to suit and I have the pleasure of blogging today’s. As expected, this was a pleasant, reasonably tough, solve with some excellent clues. I read most of the … Read more >>
Private Eye (Cyclops/655) Fake news decade
It is the Eye’s 1,500th issue – nearly 6 decades of campaigning and satirical journalism making some little headway against the forces of fake news which any review of recent history shows it … Read more >>
Independent 10,212 by Filbert (Saturday 6th July 2019)
Since appearing on the scene sometime over a year ago Filbert has appeared about once a month, and though I’m sure I haven’t tackled all of them, when I see the name I … Read more >>
Private Eye (Cyclops/653) Peacock Tonsure
An Eye puzzle on the hard side this time, but still on puerile form. Solving, I found this more of a struggle than usual. While there were a few that fell quickly at … Read more >>
Independent 10,182 by Filbert (Sat 01-Jun 2019)
Filbert is now established as a regular Saturday setter and must’ve claimed today in advance with a desire to come up a puzzle like this. It has a theme suitable for today’s main … Read more >>
Private Eye (Cyclops/651) Genius paradigm
Solving was one of those times when a couple of hasty wrong answers put the kibosh on a quick solve. At the first pass I only had gaps at the top left and … Read more >>
Private Eye (Cyclops/ 649) Frenzied pencil
Don’t let your pencil get too frenzied! Make sure your X is fully within the appropriate box when you vote on Thursday. Do not make it into an hourglass and surround it with … Read more >>
Independent 10,152 by Wiglaf (Sat 27-Apr 2019)
A bit of fun for a weekend morning. Solving was fun for most of the trip – plenty of gettable clues to be picked off and enough progress to provide crossing letters for … Read more >>