PeterO

Born 1944. I was introduced to cryptics, mainly the Telegraph, in the sixth form, as a group effort. This continued through college (physics), and after, but more sporadically after I moved to the US forty years ago. Now I am semi-retired from programming - I drive school buses - I have time to troll the internet for crosswords to my heart's content. I regularly do the Guardian, Independent FT and Private Eye. Despite rather regular entries to Private Eye and the Guardian Genius, the nearest I have come to winning anything was on a book publishers' website, a crossword compiled by Eddie James, I think. As the prizes included a bottle of Champagne, to avoid customs problems, I entered in my brother-in-law's name. He was somewhat surprised to win.

Guardian Cryptic N° 25,631 by Bonxie

May 10, 2012 at 2:15 pmMay 9, 2012 at 2:52 am by PeterO

I put this mostly at the easier end of the spectrum, but none the less pleasing for that; but in reviewing the writeup, I see that I found quite a number of the answers required special comment or explanatory link .

Everyman N° 3,421 (29 April)

May 6, 2012 at 12:01 am by PeterO

I have not been able to polish this blog as intended, as I am coming off a bout of flu, but I think its is all there.

Guardian Cryptic N° 25,627 by Arachne

May 4, 2012 at 3:39 pmMay 4, 2012 at 3:20 am by PeterO

Arachne is becoming one of the most eagerly-awaited setters in the Guardian stable…

Guardian Cryptic N° 25,621 by Crucible

April 27, 2012 at 3:03 am by PeterO

I found this an inventive and amusing challenge.

Guardian Quiptic N° 649 by Pan

April 23, 2012 at 8:16 amApril 23, 2012 at 2:25 am by PeterO

I found this slow going at first, because of the lack of answers which leapt out at me, but it came out handily in the end. Across 1. Attack garden pest with empty … Read more >>

Guardian Cryptic N° 25,613 by Paul

April 18, 2012 at 2:11 am by PeterO

As usual, the definition is underlined in each clue.

Guardian Cryptic N° 25,607 by Orlando

April 11, 2012 at 2:09 am by PeterO

A very satisfying puzzle – not too difficult, with a plethora of ingenious and witty devices. Across 1. Last queen but one between posts (6) KEEPER A charade of KEEP (‘last’) + ER … Read more >>

Guardian Cryptic N° 25,603 by Philistine

April 6, 2012 at 5:00 pmApril 6, 2012 at 2:58 am by PeterO

Uncle Yap seems to have been hogging Philistine’s blogs recently, and I am happy to take this one from him. The crossword is marked by some quite unusual wordplays (wordsplay?).

Guardian Quiptic N° 645, by Nutmeg

March 26, 2012 at 2:52 am by PeterO

Nutmeg fulfills the Quiptic brief very well.

Everyman N°3,415 (18th March)

March 25, 2012 at 12:01 am by PeterO

Here we have Everyman’s usual mix of not-too-convoluted wordplays under impeccable surfaces. There are no geographical references to worry about, but a couple of words which might stretch your vocabulary. Across 1. Something … Read more >>

Guardian Cryptic N° 25,589 by Pasquale

March 21, 2012 at 10:11 amMarch 21, 2012 at 3:43 am by PeterO

This was not as difficult as I thought at first glance that it would be.

Guardian Cryptic crossword N° 25,578 by Chifonie

March 8, 2012 at 12:35 pmMarch 8, 2012 at 3:30 am by PeterO

Guardian Quiptic N° 641, by Pan

February 27, 2012 at 2:10 am by PeterO

When I started solving this, it seemed for a while to be shaping up as a little tough for a Quiptic, but on writing it up, I’m not sure how it gave that impression.

Guardian Cryptic N° 25,565 by Enigmatist

February 22, 2012 at 11:52 amFebruary 22, 2012 at 4:41 am by PeterO

Without the dedication, this would have been a tough nut to crack.

Everyman N° 3409 (5th February)

February 15, 2012 at 2:07 amFebruary 12, 2012 at 12:01 am by PeterO

A typical Everyman – nothing too elaborate, well-constructed and varied clues, with the odd bit of general knowledge thrown in, which should be gettable even if you are not the general who knows it.