Independent 7,396 by Dac
Always a pleasure to tackle a Wednesday Dac. I made pretty swift progress through this, though with a few down clues, such as 1 and 13 taking longer than I should admit. 6dn … Read more >>
Inquisitor 1131 – Number by Loda
Probably my quickest Inquisitor ever, I had it done-and-dusted in less than an hour. Every clue contained an extra word, I must admit that I usually find those types of clues a tad … Read more >>
Financial Times 13,425 / Gozo
The Wednesday puzzle is usually one towards the more difficult end of the FT spectrum but not today (at least for me). A sartorial theme for the across answers which are all items … Read more >>
Independent 7,395/Virgilius
Man, this was good! A very impressive grid construction by Virgilius, in which all bar 7 entries contain MAN, and the remaining 7 all have MAN in the clue. I spotted the theme … Read more >>
Guardian 25049 – Paul
What a treat to blog Paul with his unique sense of humour and the dashes of risque. I learned a lot of details while searching for answers to explain each clue. Aren’t we … Read more >>
Financial Times 13,424 / Armonie
One of my favourite FT setters, Armonie always has clues with clean, natural surface readings. Maybe a few too many old chestnuts (11 across, 16 across, 18 down have been seen more than … Read more >>
Beelzebub 1,061 (20/06/10)
A tough week, I think. I haven’t been able to pull together all the elements in the wordplay for 11ac just yet. *=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone, cd=cryptic definition, dd=double definition. Across 1 DESPOILMENT … Read more >>
Guardian 25,048 – Chifonie
Chifonie steps in on one of the occasional non-Rufus Mondays with a straightforward but nicely clued puzzle. Across 1. PLAICE I in PLACE 4. TWO-BIT OB (Old … Read more >>
Independent 7394 by Punk
*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone, CD=cryptic def, DD=double def, sp=spoonerism Apart from 14 across, I thought this was slightly more restrained than some Punk puzzles but had a nice mix of dictionary words and … Read more >>
Azed 1986/Scotland Yard
Sorry for the late blog… no excuses (OK other than 48 World Cup games + Wimbledon). I thought this slightly harder than the run-of-the-mill Azed (oxymoron?). No lack of the requisite mysteries. Across … Read more >>
Everyman No. 3325 (20th June)
Lorraine: Nothing to taxing this week, made sure I read the clues properly (which helps). I was held up for a while this week as I hadn’t realised that I had spelt Altantic … Read more >>
Guardian 25,041 (Sat 19 Jun)/Araucaria – Suit you Sir
Solving time: 12 mins Another themed puzzle from Araucaria with lots of references to playing cards, both in clue answers and wordplay. I found this a pleasant enough puzzle with few significant quibbles … Read more >>
Enigmatic Variations No. 919 Go-getters by Ifor
Well – a seriously convoluted pre-amble this week. Pausing only for a sharp intake of breath, here goes – Removal of abbreviations from one clue in each even numbered down column and rearrangement of … Read more >>
Independent 7392 by Phi
Always have confidence with Phi that I will get there, this puzzle was no exception, solving time 23 mins. V enjoyable as always. * = anagram ACROSS 1 WIDE-ANGLE LENS (leading)* EL (the … Read more >>
Financial Times 13,421 / Flimsy
A very enjoyable puzzle liberally sprinkled with anagrams and cryptic definitions. The clue surfaces are uniformly well-crafted. Specially liked the neat anagram at 8D and the wordplay with ‘bill’ in 23A. Across 1 … Read more >>