Guardian Prize No 25268 by Pasquale
Solving time: about two hours, but we were watching the United v Arsenal game at the time. I acknowledge the substantial contribution from my friend and neighbour Timon, but the blog (and any … Read more >>
Enigmatic Variations No. 957 – Products by Samuel
A tasty treat of a puzzle – maybe at the easier end of the EV spectrum, once the nicely topical theme had been cracked. The solver was to find four unclued entries making … Read more >>
Independent 7,619/Radian
Well I found this pretty darn tough. Most of the acrosses went in fairly easily, but the low-numbered downs were much harder and required some liberal use of the online Reveal button! And … Read more >>
Financial Times 13,645 / Styx
This was a gentle ride with a few pleasant pauses to smile, my picks of the day being 12a, 25a. Across 1 CABOTAGE CAGE (confined space) around (BOAT)*. A new word for me. … Read more >>
Guardian 25,273 – Arachne
I found it quite hard to get going on this one, but I think that’s because of some very clever clues where the cryptic reading is well concealed, with 19ac and 7dn being … Read more >>
Guardian 25,272 / Brummie
This took me some time as I was fixated on a number of wrong answers for some time. For example at 17 down I was convinced that I should take M … Read more >>
Independent 7618/Anax
A breathtaking achievement from Anax. The vast majority of the clues have a surface that refers to the same thing, yet there is no strain and they all work quite naturally. This kind … Read more >>
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 >>