Guardian 25,019 – Gordius
Gordius follows Gordius and today’s offering is just as varied and quite a delight to solve. Nothing very complicated except possibly for 11Down where there appeared to be a hard-boiled egg in the … Read more >>
Independent 7365/Mordred
Well thank goodness for the cheat facility on the website. Without it I’d never have completed this: all the clues contain the name of some literary work, and often they are very clever, … Read more >>
Independent 7364 by Eimi
*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone, CD=cryptic def, DD=double def, sp=spoonerism Just when you thought the politicking was all over, Eimi pops up with this themed puzzle to celebrate (if that’s the right word) the … Read more >>
Guardian 25,018 by Rufus
Ahoy there, me hearties. Another sail on the high seas of Rufus. Lots of double definitions this time, which can leave us ‘all at sea’, but in this instance we made it to … Read more >>
Private Eye/Cyclops 417 – Percentage, percentage, percentage
I was knocking off these clues without too much trouble but did think more than once that they were quite convoluted. It took 20 Min – only about ½ pint – drinking slowly – … Read more >>
Azed 1981: Marmite and curry
A fairly straightforward puzzle this week, which took me a little over two hours to solve, although there were the usual number of obscure and unfamiliar words. No major quibbles, except for one … Read more >>
Everyman 3320
True vintage Everyman this week, in my opinion. Not a single word in the solution that required me to check its definition or an obscure place name to stop me in my tracks. … Read more >>
Beelzebub 1,056 (16/05/2010)
I found this to be an average week, in terms of difficulty. There remain one or two details that elude me for the time being. *=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone, cd=cryptic definition, dd=double definition. … Read more >>
Enigmatic Variations 914: Opus by Hypnos
This is the sixth Enigmatic Variations puzzle by Hypnos since the EV blog started at fifteensquared about 18 months ago, and I’ve done four of them! They are usually good fun, so I … Read more >>
Guardian 25,011 (Sat 15 May)/Brummie – Comic relief
Solving time: 10 mins This was a very cleverly worked theme which took some thought to see, even with only one thematic answer (20ac) unsolved. The nine relevant answers are all surnames of … Read more >>
Guardian 25,016 / Paul
When I agreed to stand in for Eileen today I was hoping for something pleasurable to cover and I have not been disappointed. I found this a little easier than some of Paul’s … Read more >>
Independent 7,362 by Phi
A very throughly themed puzzle for us today, based around characters in the works of 5ac. My own knowledge here is deeply lacking, which was a significant obstacle, though a good number are … Read more >>
Financial Times 13,391 / Viking
This was a pleasure to solve. Impeccable clues, creative and challenging without being insurmountable. It took me the longest time to see 4D, but got there in the end. Across 1 BILL OF … Read more >>
Independent 7357 (Saturday Prize Puzzle) by Bannsider
The last Bannsider puzzle I blogged had a theme based on the rock group Kasabian. I’ve looked at diagonals and unches, and I can’t see any obvious theme in this puzzle, but I … Read more >>
Financial Times 13,390/Sleuth
Much like 1A, this puzzle had a solid enough core but lacked that extra flair and creativity to put it in the running for any major accolades. Across 1 LIVERPOOL – (role old VIP)*- … Read more >>