Financial Times 13,532 / Neo
A quick solve from Neo today. Nothing especially commentworthy, but I enjoyed 21 across and 15 down, among others. Across 8 AGOUTI OUT (in the open) in A GI (an American soldier) 9 … Read more >>
Guardian 25157 Pasquale – Swan of Lichfield to the rescue
A very challenging puzzle from another Master which took me an hour to crack, helped by furious references to on-line sources for words and things I have never heard of before until today. … Read more >>
Guardian 25,156 / Rufus
Sorry for the very late post – I’ve been a bit overwhelmed today, and only just got a chance to rush out this post. Apologies for any errors or omissions… Across 1. PROPELLOR … Read more >>
Guardian Quiptic 572 / Orlando
Orlando isn’t a regular setter of the Quiptic (this is his first outing this year as far as I can see), but he has produced a most enjoyable and accessible puzzle for us … Read more >>
Guardian Genius No. 88 / Pasquale
Apologies for the late appearance of a post for this puzzle. The scheduled blogger forgot that it was her turn and did not solve it so I am standing in at the last … Read more >>
Site Maintenance
I undertook some site maintenance work over the weekend which involved clearing out redundant items from the database. In the process, it appears that a few posts have been closed to further comments. … Read more >>
Independent 7502 by Merlin
*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone, CD=cryptic def, DD=double def, sp=spoonerism Continuing the recent run of themed puzzles in the Indy, this one contained a number of literary adulteresses. It was quite easy to get … Read more >>
Independent on Sunday 1080 by Quixote – 24th October 2010
A gentler puzzle this week than last, with nothing to frighten the horses. 12ac was a real delight, and made us think for a while about the precision of wording needed in cryptic … Read more >>
Everyman No. 3343 (24th October)
Lorraine: We were on a coach trip to London when solving this weeks puzzle, and oddly enough passed Ludgate Hill. I managed to work out 15d but could not put it in until … Read more >>
Azed 2004
Another Azed that I managed to complete almost all of quite quickly without references, though with some educated guesswork based on many years of finding obscure words in Chambers. Still, it’s none the … Read more >>
Beelzebub 1,079 (24/10/10)
I found this to be the toughest Beelzebub for some time, and I had only a handful solved before reaching for various aids. I think it was just the vocab that was my … Read more >>
Beelzebub 1,078 (17/10/10)
The pattern for me recently seems to be to make a good start and then get really, really stuck on the last couple of clues. This again happened here, with the NE corner … Read more >>
Independent 7495 (Sat 23-Oct) Nestor
The Indy’s Prize schedule and the blogging calendar have lately coincided so that more often than not I end up with Nestor. I find his crosswords a bit easier than the likes of … Read more >>
Guardian 25,149 (Sat 23 Oct)/Biggles – Jerk of fate
Solving time: 23 mins, one mistake (1dn) This tough puzzle was a mix of good and bad, with some really clever wordplay devices and elegant surfaces intermingled with clues for which the cryptic … Read more >>
Enigmatic Variations No. 937 – Upheaval by Raich
With ‘pencil recommended, at first’ and ‘upheaval’ threatened, I braced myself for some serious re-engineering of the grid post-solving…but in the end there was a relatively simple, but cleverly constructed, twist to the tale… … Read more >>