Azed 1978
The usual Azed, full of neat and tightly-constructed clues. Across 1 KEKS — keks are trousers and kex is a dry hollow herbaceous stalk 4 POPESHIP — (hopes)* in pip, and the Pope … Read more >>
Guardian 24,993 (Sat 24 April)/Paul – Fast food
Solving time: 5 minutes A welcome return for Paul to the Saturday slot. For a prize puzzle this was surprisingly straightforward but still very enjoyable. It also made me very hungry with so … Read more >>
Enigmatic Variations No. 911 MMO by Glow-worm
A murder mystery this week – sounds a good one. The preamble promises a hunt for not only the murder victim, but also the location of the victim and the investigator of the case. … Read more >>
Independent 7344 by Phi
I found this very much on the easy side, solving time 13 mins. As always with Phi, well-constructed, clear, clues with little scope for doubt. * = anagram ACROSS 1 IDENTITY THEFT ‘?’ … Read more >>
Financial Times 13,373 / Bradman
This crossword of average difficulty from the master is a pleasant solve. Many feel-good words in the clues: best, great, famous, prime, superb, chief, right, fresh, true, leading, successful, generous. Across 1 COBBLER – A … Read more >>
Guardian 24,998 – Araucaria
I found this mostly pretty easy for a Friday Araucaria, especially after getting 1ac immediately. Lots of the usual Araucaria wit, and two very clever &lits (though both with minor flaws), and no … Read more >>
Independent 7,339 by Tees (Saturday Prize Puzzle, 24/04/10)
A challenging ornithologically-themed Tees this week, which didn’t seem to get any easier once the theme was rumbled. A few of the thematic entries were quite obscure, and I half expected to have … Read more >>
Financial Times 13,372 / Styx
Plenty of gentle clues, including a slew of hidden answers and double definitions. But there are also some admirable clue surfaces (I ticked 10A, 18A and 15D), plus the potentially mundane answer at 11D … Read more >>
Independent 7,343 by Eimi
I enjoyed this one a lot, even though it was fairly easy for a Thursday, as Eimi intimated it might be. Some of the anagrams in particular are blinding. I did this on … Read more >>
Independent on Sunday 1054 by Quixote 25th April 2010
Once again we solved this while on a rail-replacement bus service. Plently of good surfaces and very enjoyable overall. We felt that 2dn was particularly good. One unresolved point at 25ac – suggestions … Read more >>
Guardian 24,997 / Paul
A fairly typical Paul puzzle, with witty, cheeky, story-telling surfaces – but none of his really outrageous cluing. I hope the relatively new solvers whose confidence has been boosted in the last few … Read more >>
Financial Times 13,363 – Dante
Monday Prize Crossword on 19 April 2010 Another light and easy start to the week with Dante and his brand of crisp and slick clues always put together with smooth surfaces. Most solvers … Read more >>
Financial Times 13,362 by Mudd
Prize puzzle from the Weekend FT of April 17 This puzzle strikes me as a mixed bag. Mudd comes up with a clever cryptic definition for LIE DETECTOR (4D) and a cute 25A, … Read more >>
Guardian 24,996 / Gordius
Apologies for the belated post, the scheduled blogger has been tied up with work commitments and I didn’t get in until a short while ago to see the email he sent when he … Read more >>
Independent 7,342/Dac
My first blog for what seems like quite a while, and what better way to get back on the horse than with a Dac. Wonderful clueing as always, 2D being my pick of … Read more >>