Inquisitor 1166 – Russian Links by Loda
I found this offering by Loda pretty tricky. Due to my lack of knowledge of statistics and statistical modelling, the clue in the title utterly passed me by, and I had completed the … Read more >>
Independent 7,610/Punk
I rarely get round to tackling the Guardian or FT puzzle these days (or The Times for that matter), so it’s always good to get a bowlful of Halpern in The Indy every … Read more >>
Financial Times 13,636 / Jason
Some pleasingly tricky clues here, in particular 7 down and 16 down. I didn’t otherwise find much to comment on, except I wonder how our nonnative English speakers fared with the somewhat obscure slang … Read more >>
Guardian 25264 Orlando – Rustic Romance
Orlando took us through the countryside for an entertaining morning’s leisurely walk without too much difficulty and accompanied by a bracing breeze. ACROSS 1 INDICT ha 4 ESPOUSAL Ins of USA (country) in … Read more >>
Guardian Genius 92 – Brummie
(Sorry for the late posting – last minute delays writing this up due to work commitments etc) Maybe it’s just me, but I think the Genius puzzles are getting generally harder. Number 91 … Read more >>
Independent 7609 by Eimi
*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone, CD=cryptic def, DD=double def, sp=spoonerism This was one of those puzzles where you know, from the presence of some slightly odd words in the down clues, that there must … Read more >>
Guardian 25,263 – Rufus
Gentle and easy does it with Rufus today, with the usual smooth surface readings. On the other hand there are a couple of clues that I raise an eyebrow at because the cryptic … Read more >>
Guardian Quiptic 590 / Hectence
I found nothing particularly noteworthy in this workmanlike puzzle. As 10 of the 28 clues involved anagrams it was easy to solve but lacked variety. All definitions given are from Chambers 11th Edition. … Read more >>
Guardian Quiptic – New Blogger Required
A vacancy has arisen on the Quiptic blogging team. If anyone is interested in joining the team please email me at: admin{at}fifteensquared{dot}net. The commitment would be for a blog every fourth week, to … Read more >>
Beelzebub 1,097 (27/02/11)
A relative quick start and a slow finish for me this week, not helped by overconfidently writing in some non-existent words. I’m not sure if there’s something going on here that I can’t … Read more >>
AZED No. 2,022 Plain
Nick: A fairly easy stroll for an Azed this week. 18dn was the last in, as the instruction ‘The Chambers Dictionary (2008) is recommended‘ always steers me in the wrong direction when proper nouns … Read more >>
Everyman No. 3361 (27th February)
Lorraine: Nice steady Everyman this week, nothing to taxing although I had to look up 25a. in Bradfords to confirm. Thank you Everyman. Across 1. Noon, and crate’s broken open for delicious drink … Read more >>
Independent on Sunday 1098: Quixote
The usual straightforward, sound offering from Quixote. Solved pretty quickly, though 9a held me up a bit. The most popular clue will probably be 8d, though I’d go for 17a or 5d for … Read more >>
Independent 7602 (Saturday Prize Puzzle by Monk 26-02-2011)
A very pleasing puzzle from Monk, with some very inventive clues. Also a lovely array of the different clueing techniques that can be used in constructing a cryptic crossword. I failed to find … Read more >>
Guardian 25,256 / Brendan
A pretty straightforward puzzle, I think, for a Brendan – especially a prize. This was a cleverly-composed and entertaining challenge for the Oscars weekend. I think some might consider it more of a … Read more >>