Independent 7125 by Morph
*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone, CD=cryptic def, DD=double def This was a brilliant piece of work by Morph. I don’t know if the idea has been used before or not – it’s such a … Read more >>
Guardian 24,780 / Rufus
Back to Rufus for Monday morning and a good example of how a puzzle can be perfectly straightforward and still enjoyable and satisfying. We have Rufus’ characteristic wit and elegance in the surfaces, … Read more >>
Private Eye/Cyclops 397 – Bless you
Lots of anagrams this time with one interesting reverse anagram. That probably contributed to the feeling that nothing that was particularly difficult. I suspect I would have recorded a fast solve time if … Read more >>
Azed 1941
Apologies for the late posting: I’d got my dates confused and only realised I was supposed to be blogging this puzzle just before I had to go out for a few hours. I … Read more >>
Everyman 3280
Nice and easy this week. There’s a couple of odd words, but usually with such clear signposts and complete definitions, it’s not very hard to check you’ve got the right thing. Overall, a … Read more >>
Beelzebub 1,016 (09/08/09)
I have to admit I found Beelzebub particularly challenging this week. It took perhaps three or four sittings as opposed to the usual one or two to finish off. The exact construction of … Read more >>
Guardian 24,773 (Sat 8 Aug)/Araucaria – Killer whale
Solving time: 18:42, almost half of which on three clues. I enjoyed this but got stuck on 16dn (ALFRESCO), 21dn (WHALE) and finally 8dn (FULMINATED). Other than the ‘bard’s friend’ in 21dn there … Read more >>
Financial Times 13,155 / Falcon
I was pressed for time today and so I’m happy there is an easyish Friday puzzle for a change. The RHS came together very quickly; the LHS took longer as I had a … Read more >>
Independent 7,723/Phi
A nice end to the week from Phi. Started this as I got on the bus to work, and finished just before I needed to get off. Perfect. Across 1 SUPERCHARGED – PERCH … Read more >>
Inquisitor 136 – Availability by Phi
This is a good example of a surprise you can sometimes get from thematic puzzles – that an idea hasn’t been used before. I even wonder if this is what the title is … Read more >>
Guardian 24,778 / Brummie
There’s a mini-theme of improbability going on here, in 14, 18ac, 4dn and 24dn etc. There are one or two rather lame charades, I think, but an entertaining puzzle on the whole, as … Read more >>
Independent 7118 by Tyrus (Saturday Prize Puzzle 8 August 2009)
I struggled with this puzzle having to return to it a number of times. With hindsight I think that the wordplay was clever but very fair. The definitions were well disguised which made … Read more >>
Enigmatic Variations 874: Arthur by Oxymoron
A nice short preamble: five answers have one letter added or removed and then arranged for entry. The lengths for these clues refer to the answer, rather than entry, lengths, so they are … Read more >>
Financial Times 13,154 – Viking
Still no sign of the recent puzzles online, and I’m far from the madding crowd today so unlikely to lay my hands on the paper itself. If you have been fortunate enough to … Read more >>
Independent 7122/Scorpion
An enjoyable crossword from Scorpion. As you might expect there was some tricky wordplay — in many of these its explanation needs to be separate from the answer. Across 1 SILICON VALLEY — 2 defs, … Read more >>