Quirister

I learned to do crosswords from my parents, who also introduced me to choral singing and classical languages (they met in a choir while studying Classics / History at university). Perhaps not the most obvious background for an Engineering degree, but the language and problem-solving skills turned out to be useful for working as a technical author in the software industry. Meanwhile all the fun stuff (sewing, cooking and various crafts as well as the singing) gradually took over more of my time . . . so eventually I decided that 30 years’ working life was enough. I now do a range of different volunteer tasks and need a good diary to keep track of it all. As they say: once you retire, you wonder how you ever found time to go to work.

Independent 10,476 by Poins

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A reasonably straightforward puzzle, though with a few rather tricky constructions that took some working out. There’s only one really obscure word, at 14a, where the wordplay is clear enough to allow the … Read more >>

Everyman 3,837

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A reasonably straightforward puzzle from Everyman, who continues to deliver in a slightly quirky style that’s becoming familiar. As usual, the anagram indicators are inventive (not to say dubious in a couple of … Read more >>

Everyman 3,833

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Perhaps a slightly trickier than usual Everyman this week. The Guardian crosswords blog is still recommending Everyman as a puzzle suitable for beginners. I’m not always convinced; some of the clues here are … Read more >>

Everyman 3,829

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One of Everyman’s better crosswords this weekend, at least in my opinion. As we’ve come to expect, we have a related pair of longish answers (the with / without of 3d / 11d), … Read more >>

Quiptic 1,057 by Anto

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Anto is providing our entertainment today: mostly straightforward with a few tricky moments. I made steady progress with this, then realised I’d got absolutely nothing in the SW corner. That held out for … Read more >>

Everyman 3,825

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A bit of a mixed bag this week: mostly straightforward, some excellent clues, but a few slightly iffy ones. I enjoyed most of this, but a few clues look as though Everyman didn’t … Read more >>

Everyman 3,821

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Everyman starts the New Year with . . . well, more of the same; bending the rules a bit but generally fun. There are a couple of names that might not be familiar … Read more >>