Guardian

I initially thought this was Carpathian’s debut in the Cryptic slot, but a little research showed me that I had in fact blogged her first such effort a few weeks ago. I can … Read more >>

A themed puzzle from Philistine for this week’s puzzle in the prize slot. I had the pleasure of blogging Philistine’s puzzles four times last year, but this is the first time this year … Read more >>

After a brief slow start everything suddenly fell into place, and this ended up as a pretty quick solve. Good fun though: thanks to Tramp             Across 1. … Read more >>

Thanks to Vlad for the challenge. Definitions are underlined in the clues. Across 1 Crazy house internally a big let-down (6) BATHOS : BATS(crazy/nuts, as in “bats in the belfry”) containing(… internally) HO(abbrev. … Read more >>

The puzzle may be found at https://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/cryptic/28174. That slipped down fairly easily. Brummie often has a theme, but I do not see one here. ACROSS 1 UNDERHAND Labourer’s assistant could be so devious … Read more >>

I’m always pleased to see Crucible’s name on a puzzle and it seems a long time since I blogged one of his. I enjoyed solving this – there are some nice clues here … Read more >>

A nice start to the week with a lot of neat cluing – my favourites were 14ac, 25ac, 27ac, 8dn, and 20dn. Thanks to Vulcan.   ACROSS 9 ONE-LEGGED Needing support, being half … Read more >>

Very enjoyable indeed.  Thank you Picaroon.   ACROSS 1 LUSTRE Outspoken person desiring brilliance (6) sounds like (out-spoken) “luster” (person desiring) 5 PASTICHE Plane’s nose sparkling white and red in take-off (8) Plane … Read more >>

A slow and tricky solve, with lots of fun clues – I particularly liked 1ac, 9/23, 13ac, 17ac, 21ac, 26ac, 3dn, and 14dn. Many thanks to Paul.   ACROSS 1 SESAME Pith extracted … Read more >>

Another top-quality puzzle from Nutmeg: a good range of difficulty in the clues, with some of the six double definitions (perhaps verging on the excessive side?) causing me the most trouble. There are … Read more >>

A toughie from Puck provides some midweek entertainment, but not one for those who don’t like toilet humour. Puck is at his naughty best here with a few clues that rely on a … Read more >>

The puzzle may be found at https://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/cryptic/28167. It’s Qaos, so there must surely be a theme; I could not spot it without a hint from his website – and it turns out that … Read more >>