Financial Times 13,055 – Dante
Monday Prize Crossword on 20 April 2009 dd = double definition cd = cryptic definition rev = reversed or reversal ins = insertion cha = charade ha = hidden answer *(fodder) = anagram … Read more >>
Financial Times 13,054 by Cinephile
Prize puzzle from the Weekend FT of April 18 A nice, moderately difficult puzzle from Cinephile with a memorable clue in 3D. I was stumped on 10A for a while as I was … Read more >>
Guardian 24686 / Auster
I really enjoyed this one; quite easy on the whole and only a few quibbles. Across 9. REDUNDANT (UNDER)* + D = “German” + ANT = “worker” 10. LEACH Homonym of “leech”; I … Read more >>
Independent 7031/Phi
What’s Phi doing on a Wednesday? There must be something devious lined up for Mayday on Friday, and no doubt we’ll be seeing Dac on Saturday. Or perhaps he just needs a holiday, … Read more >>
Financial Times 13,063 / Cinephile
Another grid that is effectively four separate crosswords, loosely linked. I found the NE and SE quadrants reasonably straightforward but took a little longer over the other two. With hindsight, most of the … Read more >>
Financial Times 13,062 / Neo
Another good puzzle from Neo. Some good cryptic definitions in this one. Across 1 LACHESIS LA (at Harfleur, “the”) + I in CHESS (game that targets king). One of the three Fates of … Read more >>
Independent 7,030/Radian
Radian’s certainly developed a fairly unique and often fairly tricky style in his short time as an Indy setter, but I’m a fan. There’s some nice stuff here. There’s a kinda theme too … Read more >>
Guardian 24,685 – Chifonie
dd = double definition cd = cryptic definition rev = reversed or reversal ins = insertion cha = charade ha = hidden answer *(fodder) = anagram After that Monday puzzle yesterday, this one … Read more >>
Independent 7029 by Punk
*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone, CD=cryptic def A couple of rather loose definitions (laptop computer = means of communication ?) meant I found sections of this tricky. There was only one (15 down) I … Read more >>
Guardian 24,684/Arachne
A non-Rufus Monday with a puzzle from Arachne that I found quite hard going, with some very involved wordplay. There are a couple of clues that I still don’t understand, but I’m sure … Read more >>
Private Eye/Cyclops 389 – Mock election
One of those where I couldn’t get the last couple for days. 22D was the bugbear. The eureka moment when I finally thought of RAG for “mock” was nice, but I’m glad … Read more >>
Everyman 3264
As always, a well-clued easy puzzle particularly suited to newcomers to cryptic crosswords. I have reservations with 6dn in that it makes very little/no sense in its surface reading. As far as i … Read more >>
Azed 1925: a generous offering
I found this puzzle even easier than the previous week’s, mainly thanks to the grid. Although there are several words where the initial letter is unchecked, the overall checking is so generous that … Read more >>
Beelzebub 1,000 (19/04/2009)
*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone, cd=cryptic definition, dd=double definition. What with last week‘s excitement, and a further auspicious puzzle number, one wondered what to expect this week. What we got was an understated theme, … Read more >>
Guardian 24,677 (Sat 18 Apr)/Paul – Marathon battle
Solving time: 6 minutes for most of the puzzle and the same again on 19dn. Paul is running the London Marathon tomorrow in support of the deafblind charity Sense. There’s more information at … Read more >>