Azed 1955
An Azed of mixed difficulty, I found. I sailed through about three quarters of it with trouble at all, including most of the five long answers, but made much heavier weather of the … Read more >>
Everyman 3294
Hopefully nothing too hard here. For some reason I wanted 15ac to be ALTAR for a while (A large being AL and in front of church being the definition) but after drawing various … Read more >>
Independent 7202 by Bannsider
Solving time: about 23 minutes I found this a challenging puzzle despite getting the long answer on first look. I hope most other solvers got it without too much trouble – if not, … Read more >>
Guardian 24,857 (Sat 14 Nov)/Taupi – Cracker, Moley
Solving time: 9 mins Taupi (Albie Fiore) sadly died earlier this year; this was his final Guardian puzzle. There are many glowing tributes elsewhere on this site and on the web, including a … Read more >>
Enigmatic Variations 888: Title by Hypnos
In this puzzle you were required to deduce the title of a work by a figure (why that word was used I know not; it sounded a bit cryptic, but turned out not … Read more >>
Guardian 24,862 – Brummie
Across 1 SOPHISM OP=work in S[c]HISM 5 INSISTS sounds like “in cysts” 9 POLYP Y[en] in rev(PLOP) 10 UP THE WALL cryptic def 11 NURSE SHARK NURSE=tend to + SH=quiet + ARK=craft 12, … Read more >>
Beelzebub 1,029 (08/11/09)
Now here's a turn up for the books: a Beelzebub that I couldn't actually finish. The Chambers search suggests that the only possible entry for 11dn is BANANALAND, leaving 32ac as RD?EES, which … Read more >>
Independent 7,207 by Phi
*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone, cd=cryptic definition, dd=double definition. The usual high-quality Friday puzzle, as we tend to expect these days. I got through this pretty quickly, though with a slight diversion in the … Read more >>
Financial Times 13,239 / Mudd
Mudd gives us many amusing clues today with his trademark tongue-in-cheek definitions. Lots of fun. Favourite clue: GLADSTONE (14a) Across 1 PETER SELLERS The actor best known for his role as Chief Inspector … Read more >>
Inquisitor 150, EGOTISM by Loda
After two weeks of fiendish Inquisitors, we were due an easy one. Happily for my blogging this was it! Very egotistical – every clue began with “I” and eight of the answers had … Read more >>
Financial Times 13,238 / Alberich
I must again apologise for the late appearance of this analysis. I don’t know what has happened to smiffy, I only hope it is work rather than health related. Another excellent offering from … Read more >>
Guardian 24861 / Paul
Many fun clues today, as you’d expect from Paul, and some interesting words. I found this much more difficult than a typical Paul crossword for some reason. Across 1. BANG UP PUG = … Read more >>
Independent 7206 by Nestor
Extremely enjoyable puzzle from Nestor, not too difficult, with the 4 14-letter entries yielding reasonably quickly. Solving time, 21 mins. And as always I find with Nestor, fresh approaches to clueing. * … Read more >>
Independent on Sunday 1031 by Quixote – 15 Nov 2009
Solving time, 15 mins, so I found it fairly easy. * = anagram < = reversed ACROSS 1 CHAP(ters) This was my last entry 3 A Fellow FAIR 7 GRAP(e) HIC 9 CHOW … Read more >>
Financial Times 13,229 – Falcon
Monday Prize Crossword on 9 November 2009 dd = double definition dud = duplicate definition cd = cryptic definition rev = reversed or reversal ins = insertion cha = charade ha = hidden … Read more >>