Independent 7,425 by Radian
A very tough puzzle, involving several unfamiliar words, from one of my favourite setters. I came close to cheating a few times, but was eventually pleased to complete this one unaided. No doubt … Read more >>
Wedding photos
There are photos of our wedding — Jane Teather and John Henderson (aka Enigmatist, Nimrod, Io, Elgar) — on my Facebook page. They include one of Araucaria speaking and proposing a toast. Wedding … Read more >>
Guardian 25,078 / Rufus
A typically straightforward Rufus, with the usual generous sprinkling of double and cryptic definitions and anagrams, with some nice touches. Nothing too controversial, I think. Across 1 CROESUS: anagram of SOURCES: the wealthy … Read more >>
Independent 7424 by Morph
*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone, CD=cryptic def, DD=double def, sp=spoonerism Some very nice clues here that were mostly very accessible and didn’t require much general knowledge. 15 and 20 were my favourites overall. There … Read more >>
Guardian Genius 85: a Yarborough
I found this easier than some recent Genius puzzles. There was only one obscure word and most of the clues were fairly straightforward. The requirement here was to identify how the answers to … Read more >>
Private Eye/Cyclops 422 – Rescind sceptre
Woah! Cyclops revealing his Republican tendancies in his central down answers, and possibly extolling the virtues of early applications of antibiotics in the central across answers: Preempt anthrax. Maybe I’m reading too much … Read more >>
Azed 1991 – Ars Magna
Azed 1991 – Ars Magna Clues led to two words which were anagrams of each other – the definition provided one, and the wordplay the other. In the lists below, the definition word … Read more >>
Independent 7417 (Sat 24 July) – Scorpion
I didn’t time this accurately but thought it was about average difficulty for a Scorpion puzzle – which means pretty tricky. It might have been easier if I’d solved 4A early on, as … Read more >>
Everyman 3,330
A lot of double definitions this week and one clue that I’m not completely sure about although looks as though it might be a dd (any help much appreciated). Otherwise not the easiest … Read more >>
Guardian 25,071 / Araucaria (24th July)
I know that rightback has been having Internet access problems recently so presumably this accounts for his absence. My apologies for not noticing the lack of a post earlier but I have been … Read more >>
Enigmatic Variations No.924 – Repeated by Lato
I wonder if I was alone in finding this tough. In retrospect, the preamble wasn’t unnecessarily misleading. Nor at any time did I think the clueing unfair. Still, for me this EV was one heck … Read more >>
Financial Times 13,451 / Bradman
A very entertaining puzzle, my picks for favourites today are 12a, 28a, 20d. I started from the bottom of the grid and worked my way up, with a pause to check the answer … Read more >>
Independent 7422/Raich
A very nice offering from Raich, who has been an excellent addition to the Independent stable this year. I even saw the Nina. Something that many people get very excited about happened on … Read more >>
Guardian 25,076 – Araucaria
Probably my quickest Araucaria solve to date, with several straightforward anagrams and the Keynes reference giving me the bottom half in next to no time. Across 1 BEHOLD EH=”What was that” in BOLD … Read more >>
Inquisitor 1135 – Six further on, by Quixote
This was pretty much the opposite experience of the Raich puzzle with the World Cup theme. The thematic content was a ‘anagram and one letter change’ 7-letter word chain, the first and last … Read more >>