Independent 7249 (Saturday 9 Jan) – Bannsider
I found this puzzle very difficult, and gave up unaided solving after 35 minutes with 6 and 18 remaining – I got 6 from a Chambers hunt, but needed a wildcard search for … Read more >>
Enigmatic Variations No. 896 – Three Letters by Loda
A fairly gentle, but enjoyable, start to the EV new year from Loda, though it is a good job that a full copy of ‘The Bridal of Triermain’ is available on-line because, not … Read more >>
Financial Times 13,284 / Viking
[Now that the crossword has been uploaded on the site, removing the placeholder and filling in the analysis.] A fine puzzle from Viking, with intricate wordplay at a few places that needed working … Read more >>
Beelzebub 1,038 (10/01/10)
A very tough week for me, not helped by not being able to locate an unusually high number of the answers in Chambers, rather than just the names and places. *=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, … Read more >>
Guardian 24,908 – Arachne
Found this quite tough to get into but got there in the end… some very clever cluing, I thought. Nice theme of eating and drinking, with some kind of nod towards it in … Read more >>
Independent 7254/Phi
The usual nice Phi, not too hard but one or two tricky ones. I think the little Nina is just that 10ac refers to 11ac and 26ac refers to 25ac. Across 1 MO(V AB)LES — my … Read more >>
Inquisitor 1107: Removals by Ploy
Jumbles of words have to be removed from nine clues before solving; these words form five items and we have to black out a symmetrical two-word phrase in the completed grid that describes … Read more >>
Guardian 24907 / Chifonie
A typically enjoyable Chifonie, I think – some tricky clues sprinkled among the easier ones [Links to the puzzle as HTML, PDF and Java Applet] Across 7. MISSPENT MISS = “girl” + PENT … Read more >>
Independent 7,253 by Scorpion
I got a little bit psyched out last time I blogged a Scorpion, but thankfully this one was a bit more manageable. It was still a challenge though, and there are perhaps one … Read more >>
Financial Times 13,283 / Orense
Nothing to frighten the horses here, but there are a couple of clues that just seem flawed or – at best – clumsy to me. I couldn’t help but feel that this was … Read more >>
Independent on Sunday 1039 by Quixote – 10 Jan 2010
Solving time, 21 mins * = anagram < = reversed ACROSS 1 M (IS) USE 4 GRIM ACES 9 NO TI(C)ES 11 NET BALL ten< 12 PEPPER-AND-SALT hairstyle 14 LISTENERS (let sirens)* 16 … Read more >>
Financial Times 13,274 – Crux
Monday Prize Crossword on 4 January 2010 No great surprises in this FT week-opener. I simply love 9Down which, in my book, is going to be a classic. ACROSS 1 TREE SURGEONS cd … Read more >>
Financial Times 13,273 by Cincinnus
Prize puzzle from the Weekend FT of January 2nd Here’s another great puzzle from Cincinnus. I especially liked 1A, 29A and 5D. I solved the puzzle fairly quickly except for 19A and 6D … Read more >>
Independent 7252 by Dac
Excellent puzzle, solving time 26 mins, lots of puns in the classic crossword style. Not sure if it is just coincidence but each symmetrical pair of 13-letter entries seemed somewhat similar to each … Read more >>
Financial Times 13,282 / Aardvark
Tricky in places today, particularly the SE corner where there was a less than familiar answer (19dn) and part of the wordplay (idle in 20dn). Fortunately I knew the latter but both answers … Read more >>