A really tricky one from Gaff that had me go from making steady progress to grinding to a halt five clues away from a complete solve. I tried to search for a Nina somewhere as is common with Gaff’s puzzles but without much success. All in all , a good work out – and a well-deserved thanks to Gaff for stretching me out today.
Turbolegs
Financial Times 14,994 by ARMONIE
Many thanks Turbolegs for stepping into the breach – Gaufrid
Financial Times 14,991 by BRADMAN
A familiar face this Friday with the return of the Don. Genial puzzle, with only a couple of clues that bothered me due to the fact that I didnt know these words existed. Typical smooth straightforward cluing for most part. Thanks Bradman, for stress-free passage today.
Financial Times 14,985 by CHALMIE
Nearly forgot to get the blog out as today is a holiday in Singapore and I was going about my day in Saturday mode before it struck me late evening that I am not a time traveler. I really wish I had taken this on, on time so that I could have done justice to Chalmie. In my unnecessary haste to solve this quickly and put it up, I had to use google sooner than I would have liked to for some of the answers. I do think that this puzzle from Chalmie only goes to reinforce the opinion that he is one setter guaranteed to serve up a stunner of a crossword. Thanks a ton to him.
Financial Times 14,979 by WANDERER
A really intriguing challenge from Wanderer today. Cant put my finger on it but it was unlike any other FT puzzle this week. There is some kind of grid play (thematic?) happening with stand-alone clues making sense when joined and read vertically. A bit of local UK/London knowledge would have helped me today – I had to figure out related clues and then confirm on the web.
Financial Times 14,973 by ARTEXLEN
My first time blogging this setter. A solid challenge from Artexlen – one that was eventually solved after some intriguing trysts with word play. I would have liked to see some of the long-winded clues be more crisp. Speaking of which 4d was incredibly so – a 17 letter clue for a 14 letter solution! 🙂 Thanks Artexlen – it wasnt easy going but totally worth it !!
Financial Times 14,967 by MAGWITCH
Magwitch gives us company this Friday morning – with a challenge filled with straightforward elegant cluing as has come to be expected of her. Quite a lot easier compared to her earlier grids so an excellent opportunity for newbies at the FT to get familiar with the solving experience. Thanks Magwitch !
Financial Times 14,961 by MUDD
A gentle offering today from MUDD, which was easy going for most part except for a couple of words that seemed like an anamoly in an otherwise straightforward grid. Some clues bordered on being just a tad contrived but easily offset by the crispness of several others.
Financial Times 14,955 by CHALMIE
To B or not to B !! Chalmie serves up a delectable challenge which was equal parts difficult as it was innovative – one can never say “Been there, done that!” with any of his grids and so that made it an exciting solve. I had to resort to confirming several answers on the internet so that possibly took a bit of the aura away, and I am not sure about the accuracy of one clue. But truly this is one grid that Rowan Atkinson would have loved to solve.
Financial Times 14,943 by GOZO
A fun challenge from Gozo today, thanks to whom for serving up a real 20d ! 🙂 I got to the theme pretty quickly but then got held up by the NE quadrant, which to most others would have been quite workable. Thanks to Gaufrid for the prop up there.
Financial Times 14,937 by ALBERICH
A fantastic puzzle from Alberich which I got around to solving only pretty late in the day. But it was well worth the wait, with an eclectic mix of innovative cluing and precise wordplay. Thorough enjoyed this. Had to google to confirm a couple of responses but otherwise all good !!
Financial Times 14,931 by REDSHANK
A delightful pleasant puzzle from a much welcome setter today. Redshank gives us a relatively easy challenge with appropriate sprinkles of innovative cluing and generally clean surfaces. A couple of clues caught my fancy, especially 24ac and 7d. Thanks to Redshank, who rounds off an incredible week for the FT aficionados.
Financial Times 14,925 by BRADMAN
A tough crossword from Bradman this, with a couple of words I have never had the pleasure of coming across before. If at all there was a theme in this puzzle, it would have been “Difficulty”! 🙂 Unusually mysterious crossword for the likes of the Don. It was an impossible complete-solve for me without using some digital help. Nevertheless, it was a fun-filled experience!
Financial Times 14,919 by WANDERER
A brilliant and superb puzzle from Wanderer today. I really enjoyed solving this every minute of the way, and while there are still a couple of clues that I need help parsing with, doesnt take anything away from the really nice afterglow of a good solve. Thanks Wanderer for an absolute treat today. There is a mini-theme around Russia / Russians but a quick googling didnt turn up anything significant related to today’s date – anybody with any ideas here?
Financial Times 14,916 by JASON
A straightforward puzzle from Jason meant a quick pleasurable solve. Got started with the anagrams and made quick progress from there. I do wonder if its ok to spell 20d as has been used in this grid. All in all, a fine treat – Thanks Jason.