Independent 7,463 by Scorpion
It’s Thursday, it’s Scorpion and it’s a theme about which I know very little, so this had me very worried for a while. In the end this was a remarkably quick solve, although … Read more >>
Simon Harding
Beelzebub 1,072 (05/09/10)
I made heavy work of this one, I’m afraid. There remain a few that I still can’t explain. *=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone, cd=cryptic definition, dd=double definition. Across 1 CONCAUSE – CONC + A … Read more >>
Independent 7,458 by Punk
I think after Phi popped up on Tuesday, it was anybody’s guess who we’d be doing battle with today. In the end it was Punk, who we haven’t seen for a little while. … Read more >>
Beelzebub 1,071 (29/08/10)
I think this was the toughest Beelzebub I can remember for some time, though I made it harder by entering one or two wrong answers early on. Even so it took a fair … Read more >>
Beelzebub 1,070 (22/08/10)
A tough week, I thought, especially without online access to Chambers any more. Apologies for the late-ish blog. *=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone, cd=cryptic definition, dd=double definition. Across 4 EFFECTUAL – EC in FATEFUL*. … Read more >>
Independent 7,449 by Radian
I’m a big fan of Radian’s puzzles, so was happy to see the name come up today. This was an enjoyable challenge, themed around 1ac. This was a bit of trawl (pun intended?) … Read more >>
Independent 7,444 by Dac
Pretty tough today, I thought, especially the lower half of the grid. There were several references to things that I had never heard of, but after a bit of light research, everything adds … Read more >>
Independent 7,435 by Anax (Saturday Prize Puzzle, 14/08/10)
The recent decision to move the prize puzzle blogs to the Saturday has spared my blushes somewhat, as in all honesty this post could not have happened without the “cheat” button. Well, it … Read more >>
Beelzebub 1,069 (15/08/10)
I seemed to race through this one unaided, though almost inevitably not without a slip. At 15dn I substituted in an initial M, in the optimistic hope that MACE might mean “reprimand” somehow. … Read more >>
Independent 7,439 by Tees
A characteristically challenging and inventive Tees puzzle, that was far too hard for me to complete in the time available. It feels like there’s a theme here, goddesses perhaps, though I can’t quite … Read more >>
Beelzebub 1,068 (8/08/10)
A relatively manageable week I think, albeit followed by a pretty tentative blog as I no longer have online access to Chambers. I wonder if I’m the only one having trouble re-subscribing, or … Read more >>
Independent 7,434 by Eimi
Aha. And there I was fully expecting a “Friday the Thirteenth”-themed Virgilius. Instead we have an Eimi puzzle themed around 1ac 10c, today being the one hundredth anniversary of her death. I found … Read more >>
Beelzebub 1,067 (01/08/10)
This was one of those that went in very quickly indeed, but that I couldn’t quite finish unaided. In fact, if anyone got 15ac purely from the anagram then I’d be very impressed! … Read more >>
Beelzebub 1,066 (25/07/10)
A pretty tough week, I found. Despite the auspicious puzzle number, I don’t see any Hastings-related material here, but then I will tend to miss whole themes entirely. 19ac remains unexplained. *=anag, []=dropped, … Read more >>
Independent 7,425 by Radian
A very tough puzzle, involving several unfamiliar words, from one of my favourite setters. I came close to cheating a few times, but was eventually pleased to complete this one unaided. No doubt … Read more >>