Guardian

Solving time – approx 12 mins. I got three of the four perimeter 15-letter entries straight away and had the top half finished in under 3 minutes, then lost a bit of momentum … Read more >>

Solving time – 10-12 minutes  This is my first entry in this blog, and also the first time in a while that I have come across Chifonie.  I am not terribly impressed.  I … Read more >>

Solving time : 20-60 minutes (see below). I spent a lot of time looking at this on the bus but at the end of a 40 minute journey I had just a few … Read more >>

Solving time: 20’ Some clever puns and by no means a surfeit of clichés. Quite enjoyable with satisfying surfaces. Across 5 CORPUS – Body of work and physical body. 9 SINECURE – somewhat … Read more >>

Solving time 24:41 This was a nice example of the kind of challenge that has made Araucaria probably the best-loved cryptic setter we have. The theme turns out to be a subset of … Read more >>

 Pretty straightforward, took four to five tube stops (10-12 mins). ACROSS  9  ABODE. AB + ode – has anyone had to use the abbreviation for Able Seaman outside crossword-land? Sailor can also give ‘tar’ … Read more >>

Solving time – 11:17 Would have been about three minutes quicker but I got stuck on 1ac(!) and 2dn – from the checking letters I saw SANG FROID, which I knew didn’t make … Read more >>

Solving time: Bits and pieces in about 1h For the first time in my (limited) Araucarian experience, nary a cross-referenced clue. Not much need for a dictionary either: though 14D, while making some … Read more >>

Solving time : about 20 minutes. I noticed before writing this that Virgilius appears in the Independent today and that there is, as usual, a theme. Well, this puzzle from Virgilius’s alter ego … Read more >>

Solving time: 16’ Mixture of clichéd crossword idioms and some clever wordplay. As usual, not a shaky surface in sight. Apologies for not posting this yesterday – there’s a complicated story involving Geneva, … Read more >>

Solving time: probably 35’ total with lots of interruptions Everyman grew up in the post-war Observer as Ximenes’s relatively easy puzzle. His guidelines (as I just learned in his “Art of the Crossword”) … Read more >>

The last puzzle from one of the very best setters. Across 1 ACHILLES TENDON – I saw “heel” and stupidly assumed it was there to lead you away from Achilles. Unless it was … Read more >>

An easier day today after yesterday’s toughie from Paul. Auster is a very occasional setter for the Guardian – one or two puzzles a year I think. Across 5 HOARDED – anag of … Read more >>

According to Hugh Stephenson, the Guardian crossword editor, Paul is the toughest of all the setters on the team. This puzzle certainly suggests that he’s not fibbing! My solving time was 29:44. I … Read more >>

Across 1 QUAKERS – r, square (anag). The formal name for the Quakers is the Religious Society of Friends. 5 PELISSE – a long cloak, often with a fur lining. Homophone clue as … Read more >>