Financial Times 13,437 / Aardvark
I’m not sure what to say about this one. Whilst solving I felt that a number of clues had a rather loose definition, indicator or association in the wordplay but on reflection, whilst writing … Read more >>
Guardian 25,062 – Chifonie
Found this pretty quick for a Chifonie, but well-clued as usual. 20ac made me smile and my only slight niggle was with the repetition of the “O” indicator in 9 and 13. Across … Read more >>
Independent 7407 by Virgilius
What turned out to be a very easy puzzle from the master, I’d all but two solved in just 11 mins, but the last two 30A and 18D took me another 5 mins, … Read more >>
Financial Times 13,436 / Loroso
I heard a short while ago that Agentzero has unavoidable business commitments today and so will be unable to blog. A pity because he missed an excellent puzzle. This was a themed puzzle … Read more >>
Guardian 25061 – Brummie
Brummie, like his alter ego, Cyclops, is always fun. Although his devices may sometimes be weird, risque and/or otherwise unusual, they are always very Ximenean and fair. This puzzle was very entertaining with … Read more >>
Beelzebub 1,063 (04/07/2010)
Either I’m getting the hang of things, or this was a relatively straightforward week. I think I finished mostly unaided, just checking a few of the more obscure terms in Chambers before writing … Read more >>
Independent 7406 by Klingsor
*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone, CD=cryptic def, DD=double def, sp=spoonerism I don’t know if this is a new setter or someone like Tees dressed up. In any case, I found it very difficult. With … Read more >>
Guardian 25,060 / Rufus
A very nice crossword, with Rufus’s usual wit and smooth surface readings. The only difficulty was one word (11a) that was unknown to me, and difficult to guess from the anagram fodder. Across … Read more >>
Everyman No. 3327 (4th July)
Lorraine: I got straight into this weeks puzzle, a couple had me beat for a while, 10 and 20 across were the last two I solved. Always nice to see my old favourite … Read more >>
Azed 1988
I found this puzzle considerably harder than usual, partly as a result of my failure early on to solve any of the four long clues which form the border to the puzzle. I … Read more >>
Guardian 25,053 (Sat 3 Jul)/Puck – Taylor made
Solving time: Turned to a dictionary for 16dn after 15 mins This puzzle was themed around two men with similar names, the poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge and the composer Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, and their … Read more >>
Enigmatic Variations No. 921 – Gang of Four by Hypnos
An ‘EV’ puzzle in more ways than one, as it turned out! Bit of a complicated preamble – the solver is searching for a ‘gang of four’ who aren’t actually in the grid, … Read more >>
Independent 7,404/Phi
A very nice way to round off the working week as always from Phi. The clueing is very tight here and I found this tougher than usual. Got there in the end, though … Read more >>
Financial Times 13,433 / Cincinnus
GK buffs will feel right at home with this puzzle which touches a range of domains like literature and biology and geography. The wordplay is accessible, so with help from good old Wikipedia, … Read more >>
Guardian 25,058 – Gordius
Gordius seems to be getting easier – his Saturday prize puzzle a couple of weeks ago was pretty straightforward, and so was this, with a lot of rather obvious anagrams. As usual with … Read more >>