Independent 7283/Nestor
This is one of the first Thursday puzzles I’ve ever blogged, and I was a bit uneasy, knowing that some of the more user-friendly setters were not due. Would this be something by … Read more >>
Financial Times 13,304 – Dante
Monday Prize Crossword on 8 February 2010 Dante returns with another gentle week-opener full of smooth clues and slick definitions. ACROSS 1 SPRANG Ins of RANG (telephoned) in SP (starting prices, the odds) … Read more >>
Financial Times 13,303 by Mudd
Prize puzzle from the Weekend FT of February 6 Mudd gives us some jolly good double definitions here (notably 5A, 21A, 29A, 20D and 21D) but my choice for best clue is the … Read more >>
Independent 7282 by Dac
Not sure if Wednesday would be quite the same without a Dac Indy puzzle. This, as always, was great, particularly liked the surface readings. Turned out to be quite a easy one for … Read more >>
Guardian 24,936 / Brummie
We get roughly a puzzle a month from Brummie in the Guardian, so I think I end up doing more of his Private Eye puzzles (as Cyclops) overall and it’s good fortune to … Read more >>
Financial Times 13,312 / Dogberry
Overall I didn’t think this was as difficult as some Dogberry puzzles. It seemed to be something of a mixture, some very easy clues, some more tricky ones, some good surfaces and some … Read more >>
Independent 7,281 by Nimrod
This was quite a challenge, though the very thoroughly-implemented theme was a big help once it clicked. *=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone, cd=cryptic definition, dd=double definition. Across 6 BROWN – BROW + N. 8 … Read more >>
Financial Times 13,311 / Neo
A good one from Neo, with some creative dissections of words in the charades (e.g., 25 and 29 ac). Across 9 OVERHEARD *(HAVE ORDER) 10 PLANT dd 11 MERCURY CU (copper) in MERRY … Read more >>
Guardian 24,935 – Paul
An intricately crafted puzzle mini-themed on a subject, something well before my time. Thank goodness for Wikipedia that came to my rescue. Paul, to his credit, clued the themal words most fairly, thereby … Read more >>
Independent 7280 by Quaiteaux
*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone, CD=cryptic def, DD=double def, sp=spoonerism Quaiteaux is a relatively recent recruit to the Indy stable and this was a decent, if fairly easy, effort. Surface readings were mostly quite … Read more >>
Guardian 24,934 / Rufus
It’s Monday. A classic Rufus puzzle. No further preamble necessary. Across 1 CRUMBS: cryptic definition: ‘Crumbs’ and Crikey’ were two favourite expressions of Billy Bunter, the ‘Fat Owl of the Remove’, in the … Read more >>
Private Eye/Cyclops 410 – Berlusconi blunder
Blunder on my part that is as I find that yet again my pen writes the letters for down answers in the wrong order. May be it’s the ink that can’t spell. 3D … Read more >>
Azed 1967 – playing fairly
So far as I can discover, this is the first Playfair competition puzzle for around two years, the last having been 1804, which must have been in December 2007 (probably the Christmas competition) … Read more >>
Everyman 3306
Well I think the obvious feature of this one is all the compound solutions. Personally I think these are fun, but that they make the whole thing much easier (the more words they … Read more >>
Enigmatic Variations 900 Times Were A-Changin’ by Jaques
Just over three years and three months ago I wrote this blog. I think it was my first for Fifteensquared. Since that Independent puzzle I have blogged the Guardian, Everyman, Azed, Inquisitor and … Read more >>