The theme centred on 24A made the puzzle seem daunting at first, but it yielded gracefully in the end.
Guardian 25,764 / Picaroon
Such goings-on for a Thursday morning – but what a lot of fun! It took a while to get into but, fortunately, there were a few easy clues to help the solving along. … Read more >>
Financial Times no.14,132 by HAMILTON
Even in the FT there’s no escaping the 50th anniversary of …
Independent 8,110 / Nestor
It is Thursday today, so you take pot luck in terms of which compiler you get, and I am always very pleased to cross swords with Nestor. With Nestor you know that what … Read more >>
Financial Times 14,123 – Dante
Monday Prize Crossword/Oct 1 Last Monday, in the Guardian’s blogosphere, some solvers found it – once more – necessary to heavily criticise Dante’s alter ego Rufus for setting puzzles that are too easy (or … Read more >>
Financial Times 14,122 by Bradman
Prize puzzle from the Weekend FT of September 29, 2012 I typically find Bradman’s puzzles more difficult than most and this one was no exception. In particular, it took me a good while … Read more >>
Financial Times 14,131 by Cinephile
A colourful crossword from Cinephile today. From what I can see Cinephile is missing only SABLE to complete the set of heraldic metals and colours (as defined by Wikipedia). Thank you Cinephile. … Read more >>
Independent 8109 / Dac
This was another excellent puzzle by Dac. He really does write clues that make good sense. I always look for Ninas and themes in puzzles that I blog, but I … Read more >>
Inquisitor 1249: Grid Change by Syd Lexis
Syd Lexis has set puzzles for both the Enigmatic Variations and The Listener series, but this appears to be the first foray into the Inquisitor. The preamble was fairly short, as follows: Resulting … Read more >>
Guardian 25,763 – Gordius
A lot of very simple anagrams and some other clues that let me write in the answer almost without thinking made this a very quick solve, and not very satisfying. As often with … Read more >>
Independent 8108/Anax
As always from Anax a beautifully-constructed workout. My goodness it was difficult, though. I found it as hard as anything this setter has produced, although it is none the worse for that. It … Read more >>
Financial Times 14130 Jason
Another enjoyable one from Tuesday regular Jason. Plain sailing until the last one 19A. I got the answer, but it was one of the usually short ones that I can’t explain. Called a friend, … Read more >>
Guardian 25,762 – Puck
It is always a joy to unravel Puck, the Magic Dragon from Ireland and today, he was in top form. Devious and cunning definitions abound but the aspect that I enjoyed most was … Read more >>
Independent 8107 by Tyrus
Tyrus is one of the harder Indy setters and often appears at the weekend. This puzzle however I found easier than Tyrus usually is, tho harder than the Indy puzzle on average. Solving … Read more >>
Guardian 25,761 – Rufus
Typical pleasant but gentle puzzle from Rufus. 22dn and 27ac were my favourites. Across 1 VOLTE-FACE =”A change of view” in French 6 SACK double def “Bag” + “loot” (verb) 8 DECANTER =”wine … Read more >>