Ringo

A puzzle of two halves, for me: north side, mostly a breeze; south side, mostly murder. But I got there in the end, and I enjoyed the journey – and I learned a … Read more >>

I’m not allowed to say that this was pretty much a doddle, because I’ll be accused of being a strutting peacock and Lord knows what all else… but (whisper it) it was pretty much … Read more >>

This puzzle demands a good knowledge of geography and a smattering of French. I haven’t got either of these things, but I got there in the end. A good puzzle, anyway. People who … Read more >>

Sorry I’m late; had to do some last-minute work on [PLUG ALERT] my forthcoming book on the history of toilet paper. Reliance on lengthy themed solutions always puts me in rather a bad … Read more >>

This was absolute murder for me. For some reason – more to do with my weak brain than with the puzzle, I think – the whole east wing of this grid was a … Read more >>

Always a privilege to blog a landmark: 14,000 is not only a nice round number, it’s also almost exactly half of Don Bradman’s career first-class run total… So the cricket mini-theme is appropriate, … Read more >>

This was one of those rare puzzles that was both a doddle and a complete pleasure to complete. ACROSS 1. ACUMEN  Cu [copper] within A [area] + men [team] 4. STOCKING  Double definition; I seem to … Read more >>

I’m writing this in a whole new postal district, surrounded by boxes of books that need unpacking… but the move obviously hasn’t helped my brainpower, as this engaging offering from Styx took me … Read more >>

Nothing hugely challenging. An overdose of charades and a few too many four-letter words for my taste, but some solid clueing and some marvellously misleading definitions. Thank-you, Jason. Nice way to start a … Read more >>

As usual from Redshank, a very enjoyable and inventive puzzle. A few new and half-forgotten words here for me. Plus, it’s a pangram (something I usually manage to overlook; I only spotted this … Read more >>

An invigorating challenge to start the day. Some clues took me far longer to solve than they should have, but I’d still rate this is as an above-average toughie by FT standards. Thank-you, Loroso. … Read more >>

A new setter for me, I think – and he (if he is a he) gave me a real struggle this morning. A fair fight, mostly, although I felt that there were one … Read more >>

Nothing to frighten the horses this morning from Sleuth. One or two elements of the parsing took me a minute to unravel, but I got there in the end. Hats off for 9ac … Read more >>

I find myself stumped by two cities this morning, at 3dn. and 26ac. Otherwise, I enjoyed this – solid stuff, and the ccasional burst of inspiration. ACROSS 1. TAKES ISSUE  Takes [scenes] + … Read more >>

It’s a bright, springlike morning, and this – for me, anyway – was a bright, springlike puzzle, dispensed with before the coffee was cold but no less enjoyable for that. The art and … Read more >>