beermagnet – Page 17 – Fifteensquared

Independent 9045 Tees (Sat 10-Oct 2015)

Sat October 17, 2015 at 8:47 amSat October 17, 2015 at 12:01 am by beermagnet

This was a crossword of two halves After my “first pass” I had the entire left hand side complete but not the central down 5D and only a scattering in the right hand side. Indeed … Read more >>

Private Eye / Cyclops 557 – Etonian Lenin

Mon October 12, 2015 at 12:01 am by beermagnet

Cyclops is on a run of quite tough Eye crosswords lately. This is another that took me a fair while to solve. I had more than half the grid filled on the first pass, … Read more >>

Private Eye / Cyclops 555 – Vulgar Role Model

Mon September 14, 2015 at 7:07 amMon September 14, 2015 at 12:01 am by beermagnet

This seemed tougher than many Eye grids of late. I certainly had trouble getting started – I read all the way down to 24A before finding the first answer, and after the “first … Read more >>

Independent 9015 Scorpion (Sat 05-Sep 2015)

Sun September 13, 2015 at 12:03 amSat September 12, 2015 at 12:01 am by beermagnet

When I first saw the grid I thought there would be a Nina message on the perimeter somehow. This grid is surely crying out for it. But no, forget the perimeter this is … Read more >>

Private Eye / Cyclops 553 – Daft Squib

Mon August 17, 2015 at 12:01 am by beermagnet

Cyclops includes a couple of topical references to the current Labour Party leadership contest (9/4) and has put Andy Burnham squarely in the centre ground at 15. I had a curious conversation with … Read more >>

Independent 8985 Sat 01-Aug-2015 Monk

Fri November 8, 2019 at 9:59 amSat August 8, 2015 at 12:01 am by beermagnet

I was very glad when I found it was Monk today as he is one of my favourite setters. Last time I blogged a Monk puzzle in the Prize slot back in May … Read more >>

Private Eye / Cyclops 551 – Brandish spider

Mon July 20, 2015 at 12:01 am by beermagnet

Well over half this puzzle was filled-in by the end of the first pass. I got going again with DISGRACED at 10 which I considered earlier but couldn’t see where the S came from, but … Read more >>

Independent 8955 Sat 27-June-2015 Tyrus

Wed July 8, 2015 at 10:32 amSat July 4, 2015 at 12:01 am by beermagnet

Something very fishy about this crossword. Very fishy indeed. I think we should call in the Feds to find out what’s going on because it looks like someone has ended up sleeping with the … Read more >>

Private Eye/Cyclops 549 The Urban Turban

Mon June 22, 2015 at 12:01 am by beermagnet

Whistled through this one quickly getting over half in on the first pass and dealing with the remainder without too much fuss, until stuck trying to work out how the wordplay of 11A could possibly … Read more >>

Independent 8925 Sat 23-May-2015 Monk

Wed July 8, 2015 at 10:40 amSat May 30, 2015 at 12:01 am by beermagnet

I was glad when I found it was Monk today as he is one of my favourite setters. But this feeling changed as I discovered how tricky this one was. I had read all the … Read more >>

Private Eye/Cyclops 547 Ashdown Allergy

Mon May 25, 2015 at 8:05 pmMon May 25, 2015 at 12:01 am by beermagnet

Sorry, sorry, sorry – late blog – with no excuse at all. I had this blog ready to go apart from the words at the top and simply forgot. I seem to have … Read more >>

Private Eye/Cyclops 545 Meltdown Climax

Mon April 27, 2015 at 8:29 pmMon April 27, 2015 at 12:01 am by beermagnet

I forgot that I was down to blog this so I solved it in the normal manner, in an easy chair, rather than in front of a computer to make notes. I remember … Read more >>

Independent Sat 18-Apr-2015 8895 Anax

Wed July 8, 2015 at 10:42 amSat April 25, 2015 at 12:01 am by beermagnet

When I saw the name Anax I thought I was going to be in for a rough ride. It meant I approached the puzzle with caution taking ages over each clue, trying to … Read more >>

Private Eye/Cyclops 543 Campaign Phobia

Mon March 30, 2015 at 12:01 am by beermagnet

Cyclops reminds us that we mustn’t believe anything we hear from politicians over the next 6 weeks. Solving went like this: Most in after the first pass including all right hand side. 9 … Read more >>

Independent Sat 14-Mar-2015 8865 Tyrus

Sat March 21, 2015 at 10:10 amSat March 21, 2015 at 12:01 am by beermagnet

Ooo, I struggled a bit with this one. I had what felt like a slow start, but then cold-solved a clutch of down clues which led to a few others, so was happy enough … Read more >>