Guardian – Page 144 – Fifteensquared

Guardian Cryptic 28,342 by Nutmeg

Thu January 14, 2021 at 9:55 am by manehi

Lots of fun clues and nice surfaces, and quite difficult in places. Favourites were 1ac, 9ac, 16ac, 19ac, 25ac, 6dn, 8dn, and 23dn. Many thanks to Nutmeg for the puzzle ACROSS 1 … Read more >>

Guardian 28,341 – Philistine

Wed January 13, 2021 at 9:49 amWed January 13, 2021 at 7:32 am by Andrew

I found this quite easy by Philistine’s standards, though good fun as always. Thanks to Philistine. Stop press: just noticed a theme of Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials, with the titles of NORTHERN … Read more >>

Guardian Cryptic 28,340 by Puck

Tue January 12, 2021 at 9:03 amTue January 12, 2021 at 7:50 am by loonapick

Puck is playing games (well, a game) with us today. I didn’t actually notice the “theme” until after I’d completed the puzzle, but once I had the completed gris in front of me, … Read more >>

Guardian Quiptic 1,104/Matilda

Mon January 11, 2021 at 10:42 amMon January 11, 2021 at 8:46 am by Pierre

Matilda has produced a pleasing Quiptic this morning, which I think meets the brief – ‘for beginners, and those in a hurry’ – pretty well. For those in the former category, additional explanation … Read more >>

Guardian Cryptic 28,339 by Vulcan

Mon January 11, 2021 at 1:50 am by PeterO

The puzzle may be found at https://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/cryptic/28339. I think Vulcan is now hitting the right notes for the Monday slot, after a shaky start as a Rufus tribute (and picking up on what … Read more >>

Guardian Prize 28,332 by Vlad

Sat January 9, 2021 at 5:48 pmSat January 9, 2021 at 12:00 am by PeeDee

I found this quite tricky. No show-stoppers, but a series of finicky wordplays to be untangled. Thank you Vlad. ACROSS 1, 13 FLAVOUR OF THE MONTH In season? (7,2,3,5) cryptic definition – … Read more >>

Guardian Cryptic 28,337 by Qaos

Fri January 8, 2021 at 3:05 am by PeterO

The puzzle may be found at https://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/cryptic/28337. I’m back with Qaos again, which is no bad place to be. He uses many standard crossword devices, but generally makes them seem fresh.; and, of … Read more >>

Guardian 28,336 / Paul

Thu January 7, 2021 at 9:28 pmThu January 7, 2021 at 9:18 am by Eileen

A rather rudimentary blog today, I’m afraid. I stayed up till midnight to solve the puzzle but did so against a background of the shocking news from America, which made it quite difficult … Read more >>

Guardian Cryptic 28,335 by Tramp

Wed January 6, 2021 at 8:51 amWed January 6, 2021 at 8:20 am by manehi

As usual from Tramp, very enjoyable with lots of nice surfaces and tricky cluing – crossers from the relatively gettable long down answers were very helpful. Favourites were 1ac, 11ac, 19ac, 21ac, 24ac, … Read more >>

Guardian 28,334 – Picaroon

Tue January 5, 2021 at 8:34 amTue January 5, 2021 at 7:54 am by Andrew

A clever and highly enjoyable puzzle from Picaroon based around 12d, with varying interpretations of the phrase. The gateway clue is quite an easy one, but it was still fun to work out … Read more >>

Guardian Quiptic 1103 Hectence

Mon January 4, 2021 at 10:57 amMon January 4, 2021 at 7:55 am by scchua

Thank you to Hectence for this tricky Quiptic. Definitions are underlined in the clues. Across 1. Luxury extension can perhaps ruin housing (12) EXTRAVAGANCE : EXT(abbrev. for “extension”) + [anagram of(… perhaps) CAN … Read more >>

Guardian Cryptic 28,333 by Imogen

Mon January 4, 2021 at 7:45 am by loonapick

Vulcan's alter ego usurps the Monday slot. We have become used to Vulcan crosswords on Mondays over the last few years, but our setter (or the editor) may have considered this one a … Read more >>

Guardian Genius no.210 by Soup

Sun January 3, 2021 at 12:01 am by Bertandjoyce

Well, this was a real Genius puzzle. We knew we were in for a serious challenge this month when we read (or tried to read) the preamble: Tjyuffo tpmvujpot nvtu cf fodjqifsfe cfgpsf … Read more >>

Guardian Saturday Puzzle 28,326 / Picaroon

Sat January 2, 2021 at 8:47 pmSat January 2, 2021 at 12:02 am by Eileen

Picaroon rounds off the year of Saturday crosswords with a puzzle that initially baffled me more than most of you, I suspect. The Special instructions were: ‘Wordplay in all but one of the … Read more >>

Guardian Cryptic 28331 Brendan

Fri January 1, 2021 at 9:52 am by scchua

Thanks to Brendan. Definitions are underlined in the clues. Across 8. Semi-human creature Greek character encountered in youth (8) MINOTAUR : TAU(nineteenth character in the Greek alphabet) contained in(encountered in) MINOR(a youth/person under … Read more >>