Financial Times 13,644 / Orense
A few nice touches but, to be blunt, I couldn’t find an abundance of things to enthuse over today. I shall be an absentee host today, as I’m travelling for much of the … Read more >>
Financial Times 13,635 / Dante
FT Prize Puzzle of Monday March 7 A very enjoyable puzzle, with a number of simple but elegant — or should I say simple therefore elegant? — clues. I have in mind, among others, … Read more >>
Financial Times 13,634 by Cincinnus
Prize puzzle from the Weekend FT of March 5 Cincinnus has some unusual clues for us this week, 1A (TABLOIDS), 7D (GEMMA) and 20D (DORY), plus a typical gem of an anagram in … Read more >>
Site Outage
I have been informed that the server hosting this site is being moved to a new location sometime between 3am and 11am GMT tomorrow (17th). This activity will result in the site being unavailable … Read more >>
Financial Times 13,643 by Dogberry
A straightforward crossword today from Dogberry, though 1dn was a new word for me. I liked 29 across best, which had me puzzling for a while. Across 1 CAPOTE Old Testament (books of The … Read more >>
Independent 7617 / Dac
After yesterday’s surprise appearance by Phi we are back to normal for a Wednesday with Dac and his customary fine clues. This puzzle was a little on the easy side for my taste but … Read more >>
Guardian 25,271 / Brendan
I think Brendan’s puzzle are consistently elegant and very satisfying to solve, and this one was no exception. Across 9. COURGETTE URGE = “Strongly advise” in COT = “bed” followed by [plan]T [on]E; … Read more >>
Inquisitor 1167 – Film Club by Kea
With apologies to Kea, I have to say that I didn’t really enjoy this puzzle 🙁 but I’ll try not to let it influence my blog too much. The preamble tells us that we’re looking … Read more >>
Independent 7,616 / Phi
When logging on to the Independent website this morning, I had to do a double-take: had I slept for three days and woken up to Phi’s usual Friday crossword or had the unthinkable … Read more >>
Financial Times 13,642 / Armonie
Not a lot of time to blog today, so I don’t have many comments to make. As always, Armonie’s impeccable clues are incredibly concise, averaging just under five words apiece. Armonie, thanks for … Read more >>
Guardian 25270 Paul – Sperm Donor, Indeed
The God of Crosswords is kind to me, giving me Paul to blog on a day when my country is featured, days after Lee Chong Wei, our national badminton champion retained his All-England … Read more >>
Guardian Quiptic 591 Moley
(Prologue) This is my maiden blog. I could say “be gentle with me” but I won’t. All comments are welcome – part and parcel of the learning curve for me. Commenters during the … Read more >>
Guardian 25,269 / Rufus
I hope there’s something for everyone in this entertaining Rufus puzzle, which took me a little longer than some of his more recent offerings. It’s still gentle enough for relatively new solvers, with … Read more >>
Cyclops 438: Expletives deleted
… well, most of them. I think my vote for top clue goes jointly to 23a and 4d this week. Across 7 DORDOGNE Party leader, finally dead and gone, jostled for a place … Read more >>
Independent 7615 by Glow-Worm
*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone, CD=cryptic def, DD=double def, sp=spoonerism After last week’s digression into the world of music, the Indy was back on more familiar territory this week with – you’ve guessed it … Read more >>