Eileen

I’ve been doing cryptic crosswords since university days, learning how with a group of friends in coffee breaks. The Guardian crossword has been part of my life for most of the time since. Since retiring from teaching (originally Classics and, subsequently, when that was dropped from the curriculum, mostly English and History), having serendipitously stumbled on 15², I discovered that I could get the Indy and FT puzzles online and so I now add those, when they are set by my favourite compilers. Occasionally, I try the Genius and have even submitted a few. (Some years ago, I won a Collins dictionary in the Guardian Prize lottery, which established it as my referred reference.) I don’t take note of solving times: I enjoy taking time savouring the construction and particularly the surface of clues and always feel slightly disappointed when I finish too quickly. My one regret is my complete failure to enthuse any member of my family with cryptic crosswords.

Guardian 29,094 / Carpathian

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Once again, Carpathian slips comfortably into the Monday slot, as I said at the beginning of my previous blog of one of her puzzles. I enjoyed this one, with its well-chosen indicators for … Read more >>

Guardian 29,092 / Picaroon

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What’s this? Picaroon with Special Instructions? On a weekday? Several times lately Picaroon has taken to hiding his themes until midway through the down clues, thus frustrating solvers like me who tackle the … Read more >>

Guardian 29,085 / Brummie

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It’s Brummie providing our puzzle this morning.   I found this pretty straightforward, with a number of simple charades and anagrams and a helpful indication of a ‘lift and separate’ clue at 5dn. … Read more >>

Guardian 29,078 / Pasquale

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I really enjoyed this mid-week challenge from Pasquale, with a range of clever clues, including some excellent anagrams. As well as the anagrams at 27ac, 1dn and 8dn, I had ticks for 9ac … Read more >>

Guardian 29,071 / Brummie

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A pretty straightforward and enjoyable puzzle from Brummie this morning. The main issue with this setter is that he often, but not always, has a theme – at least with Qaos we know … Read more >>

Guardian 29,064 / Vulcan

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Vulcan fills his regular fortnightly Monday slot for the Bank Holiday. We have the usual Monday medley of anagrams and cryptic and double definitions. I quite liked 15ac for the neatly hidden (for … Read more >>

Guardian 29,055 / Paul

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It’s Paul providing our challenge today, with a mix of straightforward clues and some that were more tricky. It was a relief to see immediately that there were no multiple clues scattered around … Read more >>

Guardian 29,048 / Imogen

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Imogen fills the midweek slot, with a puzzle which I really enjoyed. We have a medley of straightforward charades and anagrams, some with ingenious indicators, and some less familiar words, with neat surfaces … Read more >>

Guardian 29,041 / Brendan

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A holiday treat from Brendan, with another of his impressive grid-fills. The key to the puzzle is in the middle row and within the grid there is an armoury of swords, some more … Read more >>

Guardian 29,034 / Anto

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A couple of months ago, Andrew began his preamble of an Anto puzzle with ‘A generally easy Monday puzzle, with some occasional traps due to this setter’s rather idiosyncratic style’. I think I … Read more >>

Guardian 29,032 / Brendan

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After a sequence of fine puzzles, Brendan rounds off the week with another of his impressive gridfills. The key to the puzzle is in the middle row: in both clues and solutions we … Read more >>