Archive

A nifty design where the perimeter is comprised of four hyphenated repeats         Across 1 Spa’s private room asked for during Prohibition BADEN-BADEN DEN (private room) BADE (asked) all in … Read more >>

This seemed a very tough week for me, though on blogging I’m not sure why, as everything seems to make sense. I suspect it was a combination of some tough vocabulary plus a … Read more >>

Ingenious and deftly crafted         Across 1 Birth defect – mostly with sameness, I fancy SIAMESE TWINS (MOSTLY SAMENESS I)* 10 Emperor finally clothed in new, brilliant, shiny stuff NACRE … Read more >>

The same weekend that Inquisitor is moved into the main paper, Beelzebub benefits from almost double the space we’re used to. The grid is commensurately huge, while the clues remain printed in the … Read more >>

Fiendishly clever         Across 1 Sea creature – French Republic has one in store STARFISH RF (Republique Francaise) in STASH (store) 7 Loafer, say, very unwanted on barge SHOE V … Read more >>

Well I never. It has been a while, but this was a rare unaided finish for your blogger. I suspect the enforced discipline of tackling the puzzle over a quiet pint or two … Read more >>

Wonder how many other folk allow themselves this weekly treat         Across 1 Jerk restricting path taken by Jack in athletic event BROAD JUMP ROAD (path) J (jack) in BUMP … Read more >>

Apologies for the tardy post, and many thanks to Gaufrid for pointing out the oversight. This was quite a tough week, so there are a couple I haven’t been able to explain fully. … Read more >>

Towards the easier end of the Beelzebub spectrum but no less enjoyable for that         Across 1 Keelie  got troubled when drunk GUTTERBLOOD (GOT TROUBLED)* 11 Lack of leaves in … Read more >>

A fairly tough challenge, I thought. There was plenty to confim in Chambers before blogging, but I think I’ve managed to explain everything this week. *=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone, cd=cryptic definition, dd=double definition. … Read more >>

Excellent as usual         Across 1 Chance instant, mostly noticed by touch HAPTIC HAP (chance) TIC[K] (instant mostly) 5 Crazy officer brought into plan MADCAP DC (officer – detective constable) … Read more >>

A very tough week. There was plenty to look up, both definitions and wordplay elements, much of which was only to be found in Chambers. The wordplay for 7ac eludes me, while 27ac … Read more >>

Usual inventiveness and clever misdirections – includes a mini theme as yet unexplained           All clues followed by * indicate words connected with cricket Across 1* This puzzle’s girl … Read more >>

A good and fairly tough puzzle this week. Plenty of insertions and less abbreviations than usual, I thought, which is not a complaint. *=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone, cd=cryptic definition, dd=double definition. Across 1 … Read more >>

Highest quality as usual         Across 2 Ability to prosecute child curtailed by nasty fight about end of case INFANGTHIEF right to arrest INFAN[t] (child curtailed) [cas]E in (FIGHT)* 10 … Read more >>