Private Eye (Cyclops/ 647) Executive Time
One of those where the last one in was the first one read and failed to solve, several times: 1A where I got totally fixated that the definition was some kind of egg … Read more >>
beermagnet
Independent 10,122 by Serpent (Sat 23-Mar 2019)
O Serpent, have you fooled me this time. I’m well used to there being a theme in a Serpent puzzle, and well-used to missing them, which I don’t usually worry about. But as … Read more >>
Private Eye (Cyclops/645) Ironic Abyss
Quite a quick solve again. Only half a dozen gaps after the first pass mostly in the top right where 5A Fillip and 11A Scrutineer gave me the most trouble. All the wordplay … Read more >>
Independent 10,092 by Knut Sat 16-Feb 2019
I have been waiting for another Knut to appear on by blogging rota for far too long. This one does not disappoint. Entertaining and with all Knut’s trademark wit and topicality in full view. … Read more >>
Private Eye/Cyclops 643 Resentful Toffs
I thought this was going to be over too soon. I swept through most of the top half after getting 1a and 4 with ease delivering all those first letters, (I wondered about … Read more >>
Independent 10,062 by Filbert (Sat 12th Jan)
Filbert is one of the more recent to join the merry band of Independent setters, and this is the first time the nutty one has been seen on a Saturday. I have only … Read more >>
Private Eye (Cyclops/641) Xmas Special 2018 – The Headmistress Writes
Headmistress has written quite a lot – 585 pages I hear. So I suppose we should be thankful this annual giant puzzle is still only 27×27 instead of something much larger. The puzzle … Read more >>
Private Eye (Cyclops/640) Gimme Mistletoe
Private Eye snuck out a 1-week issue so by now most of you will be stuck into the Christmas monster. I’m going to start just as soon as I’ve posted this blog. Solving: … Read more >>
Independent 10,033 by Monk (Sat 8th Dec)
This was a masterclass of brilliant clues … … so many it’s silly to list them. Oh all right: 8 28 19 22 16 1 4 and 5 and that’s not including the ones where … Read more >>
Private Eye (Cyclops/638) Offshore sinner
Because the Eye crossword allows us the luxury of over a week to solve it I often wait till the mood takes me. This time I felt like solving it straight away … … Read more >>
Independent 10003 by Dalibor (Sat Nov 3rd)
Looks like Dalibor is on the setting cycle that makes his puzzles land on my day to blog again … … and I certainly don’t mind that. Two thirds of the way into … Read more >>
Private Eye (Cyclops/636) Symbolic finger
During the first half of solving this there seemed to be a large number of anagrams . Then after the half-time orange, I seemed to find charade after charade It was just the … Read more >>
Private Eye (Cyclops/634) Boswell bristle
There is the usual swathe of political subject matter in the clues, but besides the grid centring on Jeremy Corbyn, there isn’t much in the answers. Favourite clue must be the long anagram … Read more >>
Independent 9973 (Sat 29-Sep 2018) by Dalibor
Is this the first puzzle by Dalibor in the Independent? If so, this was a fine one to open the account. I’m familiar with his puzzles created for the various Sloggers and Betters … Read more >>
Private Eye (Cyclops/632) Diplomatic First Lady
Another fairly routine Eye puzzle this time. Nothing hugely topical or interesting to call out. Solving was easy enough for the first pass which ended with much more than half the grid filled: … Read more >>