Private Eye/Cyclops 387 – Spluttering bile in springtime
I enjoyed this and didn’t find it as hard as last time. How hard anyone finds a puzzle must vary not just from puzzle to puzzle and person to person but also depends … Read more >>
Azed 1921 – Eightsome Reels
The scheduled blogger is unavailable, so I’m acting as sub with this rather brief effort. The “Eightsome Reels” idea was invented by Azed and pops up from time to time. Peter has again … Read more >>
Guardian 24,653 (Sat 21 Mar)/Gordius – The splice of life
Solving time: 11:08 A rare Saturday outing for Gordius, which I think was of about the same level of difficulty as his occasional weekday puzzles. Some clever stuff here with a good sprinkling … Read more >>
Independent 7003 by Phi
Quite an easy puzzle from Phi, I thought, getting quite a bit from definitions, verifying wordplay later. Solving time, 15 mins. * = anagram < = reversed 1 TIME S H(E)ET 6 STUB … Read more >>
Independent 6998/Math (Prize puzzle 21-03-09)
A fitting theme for a puzzle that appeared the day before 4. A couple of clues make reference to “ladies of tomorrow”, or “ladies celebrated on Sunday”, and there are a number of … Read more >>
Financial Times 13,036 / Viking
I found this puzzle tough to start with but it got better when then the anagrams fell into place. 9A and 21A were my favourites, also enjoyed the reversals at 28A and 31A. … Read more >>
Beelzebub 996 (22/03/09)
*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone, cd=cryptic definition, dd=double definition. A typically excellent Beelzebub, with some especially nice surface readings. I’ve managed to explain them all this week, which may actually be a first! Across … Read more >>
Guardian 24,658/Logodaedalus
Mostly quite a straightforward puzzle today, with some extremely easy clues, though there are a few obscurities that could cause hold-ups. I also seem to have found quite a few nits to pick … Read more >>
Inquisitor 116 — Well Chuffed by Salamander
A very enjoyable journey from Salamander I was well chuffed with it! The theme turned out to the the SETTLE-CARLISLE LINE, a beautiful and dramatic railway line linking the two towns and travelling … Read more >>
Enigmatic Variations No. 854 – Threesome by Ploy
I think Ploy must have a fetish for anagrams, or at least that’s the way it seemed to me when I was solving this puzzle. However, having said that, there were some pleasing surfaces, … Read more >>
FT 13,035/Bradman
A well-balanced smattering of general knowledge categories (and at the Trivial Pursuit, rather than Mastermind, level). A couple of Oxbridge college names cropped up early on while solving, which lured me briefly into … Read more >>
Independent 7,002/Nestor
I found this pretty tough going, though Thursdays are generally the hardest weekday. I made a flying start with some of the across clues, but then slowed up, mainly because I thought that … Read more >>
Guardian 24,657 – Paul
Quite easy for a thursday I thought, but I was left with a couple of quibbles and uncertainties. These were balanced by the highly enjoyable 9ac, 11ac and 25ac. dd = double definition … Read more >>
Independent on Sunday 997 by Quixote (22 Mar 2009)
Some excellent misdirection in the definition parts in this puzzle. Solving time, 22 mins. * = anagram ACROSS 1 CHEESY Double definition, Leicester being a type of cheese. Clue wording clearly pointing to … Read more >>
Financial Times 13,026 – Falcon
Monday Prize Crossword on 16 March 2009 dd = double definition cd = cryptic definition rev = reversed or reversal ins = insertion cha = charade ha = hidden answer *(fodder) = anagram … Read more >>