Enigmatic Variations 958: Seven by Dysart
I thought that this was a tough puzzle from Dysart. The preamble seemed to have so much going on that I needed a bit of a lie down after reading it. That, together … Read more >>
Guardian Prize Puzzle 25,274 / Araucaria
Something of a treat for me, to blog an Araucaria prize puzzle. It’s one of those with a long answer, this time only a partial anagram, together with some rather nifty wordplay. I … Read more >>
Independent 7620 by Nimrod – Saturday Prize Puzzle 19 March 2011
I was able to fill the grid on the Saturday the puzzle appeared but this was a puzzle that I kept returning to during the week, mainly to try and understand the wordplay … Read more >>
Independent 7,625 – Phi
Despite the fact that I seem to have blogged a lot of Phi puzzles recently, he can still really put me through my paces, and that he did this very morning. It took … Read more >>
Financial Times 13,651 / Falcon
A crossword with the upper half considerably easier than the lower, with 14, 21d and 22d taking time/research to fill in. Three easy hidden words gave a good start and many fine clues … Read more >>
Guardian 25,279 / Araucaria
There’s quite a bit of cross-referencing in this puzzle and there were two or three instances where it took me a while to see the parsing, so several real penny-dropping moments today. There’s … Read more >>
Independent 7,624/Tees
Two tricky ones on the trot for me. I thought this was every bit as tough as last Friday’s Red Nose Day offering, and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t need … Read more >>
Financial Times 13,650 / Aardvark
As good an Aardvark as I can recall. Plenty of imaginative and diligent clueing ideas, including a salutary reminder to us all (at 6D) that a clue doesn’t have to be fiendishly technical … Read more >>
Guardian 25,278 – Chifonie
I seem to get be getting all the Chifonies lately, and this is another fairly typical specimen, with a large proportion of charade clues, though I found it if anything slightly harder than … Read more >>
Financial Times 13,641 / Crux
Prize Puzzle from the Monday March 14 FT This was a treat. If you missed this last week, go back and give it a go (without peeking below, of course). There’s plenty of … Read more >>
Financial Times 13,640 by Mudd
Prize puzzle from the Weekend FT of March 12 I polished off most of this puzzle fairly quickly but for 23A (TELEVISE) I had to resort to a pattern-look-up utility! It’s a fine … Read more >>
Financial Tines 13,649 by GAFF
This is my first blog of GAFF, and I’m afraid it has defeated me, there are two answers I can’t really explain at all. So, any help from the wise would be appreciated. Nevertheless … Read more >>
Independent 7623/Dac
Nothing special from Dac today. Normally when one says this one means that it is mediocre, with nothing remarkably good about it. In this case it simply means that the crossword is well up … Read more >>
Guardian 25,277 by Bonxie
A brief offering, mainly because I started out with yesterday’s crossword by mistake! Across 1,23. Pick off reptile hiding in French 9 (6,5) CULLEN SKINK Charade of CULL (‘pick off’) + EN (‘in … Read more >>
Inquisitor 1168: Initial letters by Schadenfreude
A bit more difficult than some recent puzzles … not made easier by my going away for a weekend’s walking with no Chambers and only a rather dated Collins that I found in … Read more >>