Independent 7088 by Anax (Sat 4 July)
Has Anax set for the Indy before? I don’t think so (waits to be proved wrong). He sets for various publications, is a regular commenter here and has popped up at Sloggers’n’Betters events. … Read more >>
beermagnet
Private Eye/Cyclops 394 – Political expenses
Solving this went in waves. A smattering of easy clues were entered quickly (e.g. Louvre, Political Asylum) and I thought it would be an easy solve. Then I came to a halt and … Read more >>
Private Eye/Cyclops 393 – Public chastity
Across 7 ENVELOP ENV[y] (POLE)* AInd: dancing 8 SLIGHT DD 9/16 PUBLIC DEMONSTRATION (DOMINANT POLICE BRUTES – [justic]E)* AInd: As broken up. What an apt long anagram and &Lit clue this was. Top … Read more >>
Independent 7070 – Mordred (Sat 13 June 2009)
This was a Cocker-knee rhyming slang special. I ‘ad t’scratch me old loaf a bit to solve this one. There were a good sprinkling of relatively easy clues for a saturday to get … Read more >>
Private Eye/Cyclops 392 – Nice Guy No More
Judging by the scrawl on the crossy I’m blogging from I must’ve had a few when solving this. So as I finished it, it was probably on the easy side for an Eye. … Read more >>
Private Eye/Cyclops 391 – In the catacombs
A particularly enjoyable offering in this issue. Not terribly hard, but with some cracking clues with the kind of surface readings we hope to see, for a laugh. Across 9 OFF-DAYS (DAFFY O … Read more >>
Independent 7046 (Sat 16 May) Eimi – Pride’s progress
Lots of interesting history and other information discovered when I researched the answers that I had to check afterwards. I don’t normally note solving times, but I happened to notice the owl on the … Read more >>
Private Eye/Cyclops 390 – Smug opposition
Nothing too onerous here – I fair whipped through this one on half a journey home – but a few clues had some fairly convoluted wordplay. Across 1 SHRUB (BUSH)* AInd: pissed, around … Read more >>
Private Eye/Cyclops 389 – Mock election
One of those where I couldn’t get the last couple for days. 22D was the bugbear. The eureka moment when I finally thought of RAG for “mock” was nice, but I’m glad … Read more >>
Private Eye/Cyclops 388 – In your end-o
A solid outing in this issue. Nothing to moan about. Nothing to praise to the rafters perhaps but tight clueing leading to certain answers. I solved this quite swiftly (approx. 1 pint) but … Read more >>
Private Eye/Cyclops 387 – Spluttering bile in springtime
I enjoyed this and didn’t find it as hard as last time. How hard anyone finds a puzzle must vary not just from puzzle to puzzle and person to person but also depends … Read more >>
Private Eye/Cyclops 386 – “For Hesse a jolly good fellow”
This was again harder than most Eye crosswords with a few very tough clues. I had trouble in the bottom half – and particular trouble with number 2. Across 1 LAMB CHOP LAMB … Read more >>
Private Eye/Cyclops 385 – Clean and …
Anyone else find this much more difficult this time? I had an empty top right corner for some time, a number of clues didn’t “firm up” till I was writing this blog, and … Read more >>
Private Eye/Cyclops 384 – Pseudo-names
Answers to clues marked with an asterisk are some of the “pseudo names” used by correspondents to the Eye a few issues ago. It started with a few die-hard footy fans trying to … Read more >>
Private Eye/Cyclops 383 – Have a go
Another fairly easy outing from Cyclops, particularly in comparison to his Saturday Prize Guardian Brummie (24-Jan) which I struggled with just before tackling this one, so I may be over-judging how easy this … Read more >>