Financial Times 13,087 / Cinephile
It is not often that I would describe a Cinephile puzzle as pedestrian but I’m afraid this one did nothing for me, possibly because the surface of some of the clues made little, … Read more >>
Financial Times 13,086 / Crux
There were plenty of clues to like in this puzzle. A nice job by Crux. Across 1 VIRGINIA CREEPER *(RECEIVING REPAIR) A great example of anagram fodder that fits nicely into the surface … Read more >>
Independent 7,054/Radian
Thankfully not too tricky for the first day back after a long weekend, but a very enjoyable puzzle with an impressive number of “Q”s Across 1 QUACK QUACK – QUACK x 2, ref. … Read more >>
Guardian 24,709 / Gordius
I’m really getting to like Gordius! In the past, I have found him rather lacking in [my sort of] humour but I thought there were some really witty clues here and I enjoyed … Read more >>
Independent 7053 by Tees
*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone, CD=cryptic def, DD=double def Another very difficult puzzle by Tees. I couldn’t really get going until I looked up the Laurence Sterne wikipedia entry to find the answer to … Read more >>
Guardian 24,708 (Rufus)
It’s Monday and Rufus starts the week off with a fairly straightforward puzzle, although there are one or two tricky lights. Across 9 CASSANDRA: SAND in anagram of CARS 10 ASCOT: (m)ASCOT going … Read more >>
Private Eye/Cyclops 391 – In the catacombs
A particularly enjoyable offering in this issue. Not terribly hard, but with some cracking clues with the kind of surface readings we hope to see, for a laugh. Across 9 OFF-DAYS (DAFFY O … Read more >>
Everyman 3268 – Arts & Literature Special?
A bit easier than the past few weeks, including lots of anagrams, but I hope your knowledge of the arts & literature is up to scratch with 2 plays (12ac, 5dn), a film … Read more >>
Azed 1929/Sunday 17th May
A regular Azed plain, which means of course that there are some very nice clues, as well as one or two that I’m not quite sure about. I’m away this Whitsun weekend, so … Read more >>
Beelzebub 1,004 (17/05/09)
*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone, cd=cryptic definition, dd=double definition. Excellent stuff as always. I found it unusually tough to get started, but then things started to flow nicely. Across 1 ROSY – ROS[-ar]Y. 4 … Read more >>
Guardian 24,701 (Sat 16 May)/Paul – Futilitarian
Solving time: 11:50 A fairly gentle offering from Paul, I thought – only 2dn (FUTILITY) and 9ac (BORING) really held me up in this. My favourite clues were probably 2dn (OMIGOD) and 7/20dn … Read more >>
Comment Preview
I have added a facility whereby you can preview your comments prior to submitting them should you so wish (a new button under the comment box). I have also disabled the automatic capitalisation … Read more >>
Guardian 24,706 – Shed
Not really an overall theme today, but a few movie references and some very enjoyable clues. (X) = inserted (x) = removed) * = anagram “” = homophone < = reversed d.d. = … Read more >>
Independent 7,051 by Phi
*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone, cd=cryptic definition, dd=double definition. A fairly straightforward one for the most part, I think, although I did have to resort to a bit of cheating to finish it off … Read more >>
Financial Times 13,083 / Mudd
I’m always pleased when I open Friday’s crossword and find I have Mudd to blog about. This was as enjoyable as Mudd consistently is, with some innovative definitions, entertaining wordplay and great clue … Read more >>