Independent on Sunday 1004 by Quixote (10 May 2009)
Solving time, 16 mins * = anagram < = reversed ACROSS 1 B(L)OG 3 AP PETITE pa< 8 DE C ODES ed< 10 (win)TER MINI 11 SUNDAY LUNCH (Lucy had nuns)* 14 (b)ARMY … Read more >>
Financial Times 13,076/Mudd – Squeal Like a Pig
Slim-pickings for the anagram fiends from Mudd today, but a liberal smattering of compounds and double definitions. Across1 DECOCT – Dec + Oct.4 SPIFFING – s + piff[l]ing.9 MONKEY – Mon (three calendar … Read more >>
Financial Times 13,066 by Mudd
Prize puzzle from the Weekend FT of May 2 A good challenge from Mudd. 18D took me a while. And I do not understand the wordplay in 21A. Across 1. MAIDEN – AID … Read more >>
Financial Times 13,067 – Dante
Monday Prize Crossword on 4 May 2009 dd = double definition cd = cryptic definition rev = reversed or reversal ins = insertion cha = charade ha = hidden answer *(fodder) = anagram … Read more >>
Independent 7043/Dac
Dac as usual shows his mastery. One or two things I’m not quite sure about but it’s more likely to be me than him. Across 1 SCRAPHEAP — (car)* in (shape)* {dum}p — … Read more >>
Financial Times 13,075 / Gozo
I am trying to compose myself so that I can write a short composition about sixteen composers (or twenty two if you include the various possibilities for 11 and 12). Despite having a … Read more >>
Guardian 24698 / Rover
We found this rather tough, but with lots of good “A-ha!” moments (e.g. 12a, 14a, 27a, 6d, 21d). There are 10 clues that refer to the theme of drinks and drinking, including the … Read more >>
Financial Times 13,074 / Armonie
What a pleasant, if not difficult, solve. No complaints here! Across 1 STIMULATION T (time) in SIMULATION (replicated environment) 7 CUP C (about) UP (finished) 9 SCOFF SC (special constable) OFF (turned, in the … Read more >>
Independent 7042 by Nimrod
There’s a Nina here which I refer to after the clue explanations. Solving time, 36 mins. * = anagram < = reversed ACROSS 1 VIR(A)GO The clue wording at first suggested the other … Read more >>
Guardian 24,697 / Brummie
A welcome return from Brummie, who always entertains. After solving the puzzle, I spent a while staring at the answers, since Brummie often gives us a theme. I thought there might be one … Read more >>
Independent 7041 by Glow-Worm
*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone, CD=cryptic def, DD=double def Some nice clues, but also one or two I thought were a bit hard to decipher (especially 16 across). Across 1 Pass round the hat: … Read more >>
Guardian 24,696 – Rufus
A fairly straightforward puzzle, but with a few clues I wasn’t happy with – some very tortured defs in 12ac, 15ac, 18dn, for instance. I did like some of the shorter simple clues, … Read more >>
Private Eye/Cyclops 390 – Smug opposition
Nothing too onerous here – I fair whipped through this one on half a journey home – but a few clues had some fairly convoluted wordplay. Across 1 SHRUB (BUSH)* AInd: pissed, around … Read more >>
Azed 1927 – Spoonerisms
I knew this special was coming because, unusually, Azed told us about it in the monthly Slip from the previous competition. It’s a format that he invented, and it crops up from time … Read more >>
Everyman 3266
Definitely harder than the last one I blogged (2 weeks ago) and probably a little harder than last week. The surfaces here are impeccable pretty much throughout, and overall I felt this had … Read more >>