Tough going, mostly done a corner at a time and ending in the bottom right. Favourites were 25ac, 26ac, and 5dn – thanks, Crucible.
Guardian
Guardian 27,265 – Chifonie
As usual with Chifonie, a quick and easy solve, but with smooth and sound clueing (apart from one bugbear). Thanks to Chifonie. Across 1. ACTRESS Player added … Read more >>
Guardian Cryptic 27,264 by Brummie
A mixed bag from Brummie today.
Guardian Quiptic 924/Pan
Pan is long-term setter of the Quiptic, and he/she has produced here a well-constructed Quiptic with clear cluing that would perfectly suit improving solvers. Abbreviations cd cryptic definition dd … Read more >>
Guardian Cryptic 27,263 by Rufus
The puzzle may be found at https://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/cryptic/27263.
Guardian Prize 27,256 by Paul
I wasn’t getting anywhere with this, so I put it aside and opened the rather nice bottle of red wine given to us by a French couple in whose house we were staying last week. An hour later I was absolutely whizzing through the puzzle. I believe this is known in the trade as “getting on your setter’s wavelength”. Thanks Paul, for the puzzle and for the excuse.
Guardian Cryptic 27,261 by Picaroon
The puzzle may be found at https://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/cryptic/27261.
Guardian 27,260 / Paul
First of all, my thanks to Gaufrid for standing in for me last week, especially on what turned out to be not a good day for him. I think this must be one … Read more >>
Guardian Cryptic 27,259 by Vlad
A pleasantly tough solve as usual from Vlad, with quite a few clues parsed after the fact. I especially liked 18ac, 20ac, 4dn, 14dn and 23dn.
Guardian 27,258 – Arachne
Lucky me to get two Arachnes in a row! I rattled through most of this very quickly, but there was a sting in the tale (or whatever the spidery equivalent is) as the … Read more >>
Guardian Quiptic 923/Anto
I had a request to stand in this morning for my fellow blogger, scchua, who is having a well-earned rest. I was happy to agree, but started to have second thoughts when I … Read more >>
Guardian Cryptic 27,257 by Nutmeg
Nutmeg on a Monday showing her gentler side.
Guardian Prize 27,250 / Puck
Well, I could have ended up with egg all over my face here [not for the first time with a Puck puzzle]. I took my paper with me to solve the puzzle on … Read more >>
Guardian 27,255 / Enigmatist
The last thing a blogger wants to see on his/her scheduled day is Enigmatist’s name on the puzzle. Not only does it mean a difficult solve, with some complicated parsing, but it also … Read more >>
Guardian Cryptic 27,254 by Tramp
The puzzle may be found at https://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/cryptic/27254.