Guardian 24,640 – Brendan
This blog was accidentally published early – apologies if it looked a little incomplete! A really enjoyable puzzle, with a few very closely interwoven themes/clues that kept me going. ” = homophone < … Read more >>
Independent 6,985/Phi
Busy half-day for me today, so I’ll need to be brief. A tougher-than-usual Phi I thought, with impressive use of multiple grid entries for double-word clues intersecting in the grid. I fell down … Read more >>
Beelzebub 993 (01/03/09)
*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone, cd=cryptic definition, dd=double definition. A very good puzzle, once again. This took a little longer than usual to complete – and even longer to explain my answers – but … Read more >>
Independent 6980/Bannsider (Prize puzzle 28-02-09)
Probably the toughest puzzle I’ve attempted in a while, which explains my dismal performance: two answers missing and a whole load more that I filled in but can’t explain. Great puzzle though, as always … Read more >>
FT 13,018/Viking
I seemed to solve this one in fits and starts; with groups of answers coming in short order, but punctuated by several lulls of a minute or two. A smattering of nifty &lit … Read more >>
Inquisitor 113 TOURIST TRAP by Phi
Another challenging and well-constructed puzzle from Phi. I found the bottom half of the puzzle easier to solve than the top, and indeed only had one word in the top half before solving the … Read more >>
Enigmatic Variations No. 851 – Man of Mystery by Loda
What a delightful way to spend a couple of hours on a Sunday afternoon, letters latent for the across clues and extra words in the down ones, just my cup of tea. There … Read more >>
Independent 6984 by Nimrod
Tough puzzle from Nimrod with 6 15-letter entries. Solving time, 46 mins. * = anagram < = reversed ACROSS 8 NON-PROFESSIONAL Well-concealed with the misleading ‘Lay on line’. Definition is ‘lay’ (On line … Read more >>
Guardian 24639 / Brummie
Good stuff from Brummie today. (I can’t take much credit for this post, since Jenny solved most of the puzzle while I was working this morning.) Thanks to smutchin for pointing out the … Read more >>
Financial Times 13,017 / Falcon
A gentle mental workout today with nothing too difficult though the proverb at 14,18 is probably not one of the most well-known. 29a was nicely misleading and had me trying to think of … Read more >>
Independent on Sunday 994 by Quixote (1 Mar 2009)
Solving time, 11 mins. * = anagram ACROSS 1 A M (O) S Book of Old Testament 4 BACK (here again)- TO-BACK (give support to) 9 MA LAW I 10 BAND ANNA Square … Read more >>
Financial Times 13,008 – Dante
Monday Prize Crossword on 23 February 2009 dd = double definition cd = cryptic definition rev = reversed or reversal ins = insertion cha = charade ha = hidden answer *(fodder) = anagram … Read more >>
Financial Times 13,007 by Mudd
Prize puzzle from the Weekend FT of February 21 I had trouble finishing the bottom-right corner of this puzzle and have a quibble about one of the clues there. Across 1. SCRAPE BY … Read more >>
Guardian Genius No.68 / Paul
I am standing in at the last moment so it is now over a month since I completed this puzzle and therefore I don’t remember too much about the detail, though writing the … Read more >>
Independent 6983/Dac
The usual excellent crossword from Dac, but when is he ever less than excellent? I found this unusually easy apart from two clues, one of which I got wrong. After doing 4ac and … Read more >>