Financial Times 14142 Alberich

Approached this with trepidation as I didn’t have much success solving previous Alberichs, much less blog them.  Started off okay with the NE quadrant, then the SE, then considerably slowed down.  14across defeated me, … Read more >>

Guardian 25,773 / Rufus

I’m surprised to find that it’s almost four months since I blogged a Rufus puzzle. Here we have the familiar collection of clever anagrams, interspersed with double and cryptic definitions, several of which … Read more >>

Independent 8119 by Punk

*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone, CD=cryptic def, DD=double def, sp=spoonerism An unusual Monday outing for Punk, which was a themed puzzle, the theme being people and things from Brighton. Since I didn’t know any … Read more >>

Everyman N° 3,445 (14 October)

The odd less common reference, the inevitable bit of geography, notably coherent surfaces – what more can one say? Everyman continues to produce crosswords which are not pitched too high for most beginners, but have enough spice to satisfy more experienced solvers.

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Azed 2106

A puzzle in the middle of the Azed scale of difficulty, with no particularly involved clue construction, but a few rather obscure references needing lookups in Chambers and elsewhere. As always, quality clueing … Read more >>

Guardian Prize 25,766 / Tramp

  Following recent Prize puzzles from relative newcomers Qaos and Picaroon, here’s Tramp’s welcome first appearance in the Saturday slot [although he has written some excellent Genius puzzles]. We were expecting it, because … Read more >>