Guardian – Page 240 – Fifteensquared

Guardian Cryptic 27,141 by Pasquale

Fri March 10, 2017 at 9:37 amFri March 10, 2017 at 1:36 am by PeterO

The puzzle may be found at https://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/cryptic/27141.

Guardian 27,140 / Puck

Thu March 9, 2017 at 10:17 amThu March 9, 2017 at 9:27 am by Eileen

Puck doesn’t get much more Puckish than this – a fun puzzle from start to finish. Apart from saying that this was what you might call a 23dn puzzle, I’ll resist the temptation … Read more >>

Guardian Cryptic 27,139 by Chifonie

Wed March 8, 2017 at 2:32 am by manehi

Found this extremely straightforward – favourites were 11ac and 8dn. Thanks, Chifonie

Guardian 27,138 – Brummie

Tue March 7, 2017 at 8:35 am by Andrew

I started off rather slowly with this, but speeded up as things fell into place. There were a couple of rather obscure words, but all clearly clued. There’s a theme of cinema genres, … Read more >>

Guardian Quiptic 903/Provis

Mon March 6, 2017 at 11:19 amMon March 6, 2017 at 9:57 am by Pierre

Quite a toughie today, I thought, but you tell me otherwise. Abbreviations cd cryptic definition dd double definition (xxxx)* anagram anagrind = anagram indicator [x] letter(s) removed definitions … Read more >>

Guardian Cryptic 27,137 by Rufus

Mon March 6, 2017 at 7:35 am by loonapick

Double definitions galore.

Guardian Genius 164 – Crucible

Sun March 5, 2017 at 12:05 am by Andrew

I’m sure the idea of replacing an answer with its ‘pair’ has been done in the Genius series before, but it gives plenty of scope to the setter. Some of the pairings here … Read more >>

Guardian Prize 27,130 / Paul

Sat March 4, 2017 at 10:30 amSat March 4, 2017 at 7:14 am by Eileen

A fruitful offering from Paul, with some nice clues – I have to say, though, that I was quite surprised when I suddenly found I had finished it . Paul is not among … Read more >>

Guardian Cryptic 27135 Nutmeg

Fri March 3, 2017 at 1:56 pmFri March 3, 2017 at 8:47 am by scchua

A couple of answers took a bit longer at the end. Thanks to Nutmeg. Definitions are underlined in the clues. Across 1 Speculators added to Harry’s recurrent worries (8) BUGBEARS : BEARS(speculators who … Read more >>

Guardian Cryptic 27,134 by Arachne

Thu March 2, 2017 at 12:06 pmThu March 2, 2017 at 3:26 am by PeterO

The puzzle may be found at https://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/cryptic/27134.

Guardian 27,133 / Picaroon

Wed March 1, 2017 at 9:21 am by Eileen

Seeing Picaroon’s name this morning made me, if possible, even more thankful that I was scheduled to blog today rather than yesterday. Another excellent and most enjoyable offering from Picaroon, with the usual … Read more >>

Guardian Cryptic 27,132 by Sphinx – TV SPOILERS

Thu December 6, 2018 at 2:52 pmTue February 28, 2017 at 11:07 pm by manehi

[iPlayer link, available for a few weeks]

Guardian Cryptic 27,132 by Sphinx

Tue February 28, 2017 at 11:47 pmTue February 28, 2017 at 1:21 am by manehi

The first Sphinx puzzle I’ve seen, and a bit of a mixed bag. Mostly clever with some obscure words and some awkward parsing. Favourites were 20ac and 8dn. Thanks, Sphinx

Edit: since blogging, the online version of the puzzle has added [italics mine]:

“Special instructions: Having solved this puzzle, tonight’s episode of ‘Inside No 9’ on BBC2 at 10pm would interest you”

The episode is titled ‘The Riddle of the Sphinx’, and involves a cryptic setter and a woman named Nina… [BBC link] [Fifteensquared post]

Second Edit: [Link to a separate post with spoilers for the TV episode]

Quiptic 902/Pan

Mon February 27, 2017 at 10:10 am by Pierre

I liked this Quiptic from Pan, but found it tricky in places. Abbreviations cd cryptic definition dd double definition (xxxx)* anagram anagrind = anagram indicator [x] letter(s) removed definitions are … Read more >>

Guardian 27,131 – Rufus

Mon February 27, 2017 at 7:15 am by Andrew

This was a puzzle of two halves for me today – the top half was pretty much a write-in, with the bottom taking a bit longer, probably because of the preponderance of cryptic … Read more >>