I found today’s offering from Hamilton tough going. Slow progress for most part, having to slowly chip away at clues sprinkled across the grid. Still have a couple of clues / parsing that require improvement (apologies for this!). Seemed to have a more-than-average number of island references in both answers and clues – anybody have any idea why?
Independent 8769 / Phi
I started at the end with 25dn and worked backwards through the clues, making steady progress and with the empty lights only just reaching double figures by the time I got to 1ac. … Read more >>
Guardian 26,423 by Enigmatist
The puzzle may be found at http://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/cryptic/26423.
Independent 8,768 by Monk
Monk’s customarily efficient and elegant crossword today. I get the impression that he is appearing in the Indy more often than he has, which is good news.
One or two are beyond me a bit, but no doubt someone will come to the rescue.
This seems to contain a personal message: read down the unches on the left, then the horizontal unches in the middle, then the unches on the right.
Definitions underlined.
Financial Times no.14,784 by Peto
A good, neat, enjoyable puzzle from Peto.
Guardian 26,422 / Chifonie
The most common epithet used in preambles of Chifonie puzzles appears to be ‘straightforward’ And so it was with this one – the usual blend of nicely-clued charades, insertions and anagrams, with a … Read more >>
Financial Times 14,775 – Falcon
Monday Prize Crossword/Nov 10 Very straightforward puzzle by Falcon, ideal for the less experienced but none the worse for that. I am afraid I have hardly anything to say about this crossword. Only in 7d and in 17d … Read more >>
Financial Times 14,774 by Mudd
Prize puzzle from the Weekend FT of November 8, 2014 Another fine puzzle from Mudd. My favourite clues here are 20a (ESTONIA), 24a (SPIN DOCTOR) and 23d (BOTHY). ACROSS 1 Consider putting stick … Read more >>
Good News!
Those of you who have been visiting this site for a while now will no doubt remember the appeal I made back in December 2012 for help towards the annual hosting costs when … Read more >>
Financial Times 14,783 by GAFF
A very enjoyable puzzle from Gaff.
Independent 8767 / Dac
Another smooth offering from Dac – one or two entries we needed to check, but all very clear from the excellent cluing. We hadn’t come across 4ac before and had to use electronic … Read more >>
Guardian 26,421 by Qaos
Plenty to like here, with lots of cunning misdirection and nice surfaces. Most favourite was 29ac.
Inquisitor 1359: Comparative Advantage by Chalicea
Preamble: Wordplay in down clues leads to an extra letter not to be entered in the grid. In clue order, these letters give advice concerning 47 across. Definitely one of the shortest preambles … Read more >>
Guardian 26420 – Puck
It’s been a while since we saw Puck on a weekday, though he has done a couple of prize puzzles since. This was a welcome return, with a fairly tricky puzzle that kept … Read more >>
Independent 8,766 / Hieroglyph
I have not solved or blogged many puzzles by Hieroglyph, so I approached this one with a mixture of curiosity and apprehension. A quick perusal of the across clues revealed a theme (revolving … Read more >>