Guardian 24,719 (Sat 6 Jun)/Biggles – Johns’ own
Solving time: 16 mins A rare appearance for Biggles, and possibly a first in the lifetime of this blog. I believe this pseudonym is a conglomeration of the four setters that feature in … Read more >>
Independent 7,069 by Phi
*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone, cd=cryptic definition, dd=double definition. A very quick solve indeed, although I had to think about a couple of them, and ANTONINE was new to me (to my shame, given … Read more >>
Financial Times 13,101 / Alberich
Many clues raised a smile (14A, 22A, 27A to name a few). There are a couple of mythological references (Oleander, Atalanta), which have been clued inventively. Alberich is topnotch as ever. Across 1 … Read more >>
Financial Times 13,100 / Falcon
I noticed this morning that we didn’t have a blog for yesterday’s puzzle so here is a quick breakdown of the clues. A straightforward puzzle with nothing that needs any specific comment. Across … Read more >>
Guardian 24,724 / Logodaedalus
I’m not sure what to make of this one – mostly quite straightforward and with some nice clues, but a few quibbles too. There are several places where a word in the clue … Read more >>
Enigmatic Variations 865: One Type of 46 by Glow-worm
Initial surprise that the solution to EV862 (which I blogged and submitted) received no correct entry by the closing date!! This was obviously a mistake, with the normal lucky-winner-picker being off sick or … Read more >>
Inquisitor 127 – When it began, by Raich
Solving time: maybe 2 hours in several bursts The thematic material in this puzzle was Five words from a quote, plus its author, provided by extra letters in wordplay for all but 7 … Read more >>
Independent 7064 – Tyrus (Sat 6 June 2009)
Solving time: 30 mins I got on better with this than the previous Tyrus puzzles. Unless I’m being dense there’s no really strong theme. I can’t quite explain 2D. Across 1 HIGH = … Read more >>
Independent 7,068/Nimrod
Something must have been right with the world this morning because I raced through this in a little over 20 minutes. The same thing happened with Nimrod’s recent Saturday puzzle, all of which … Read more >>
Guardian 24,723 (Gordius)
Trying to blog this in record speed this morning as I am on borrowed internet usage and won’t get back to a computer until much later in day. Three clues solved but not … Read more >>
Independent on Sunday 1008 by Quixote (7 Jun 2009)
Special puzzle, because of 16 across. Thought it was going to be very difficult when I solved just one clue on first run through, but it became a bit easier after that. Solving … Read more >>
Financial Times 13,091 – Mudd
Monday Prize Crossword on 1 June 2009 dd = double definition cd = cryptic definition rev = reversed or reversal ins = insertion cha = charade ha = hidden answer *(fodder) = anagram … Read more >>
Financial Times 13,090 by Cinephile
Prize puzzle from the Weekend FT of May 30 Here’s a Cinephile puzzle with a couple of fine clues (24A and 14D) and a few that seem uninspired (12A and 17A) or even … Read more >>
Guardian 24722 / Shed
This strong week in the Guardian continues with this enjoyable, but quite tough, puzzle from Shed. (I only finished this with the help of my partner, having trouble with 10a, 11a, 10d and … Read more >>
Financial Times 13,099 / Cinephile
A typical Cinephile, including his penchant for using ‘some’, ‘bit of’ or similar to indicate some of the middle letters in the following word and a number of redundant words to improve the surface (and, … Read more >>