Guardian 24,614 – Brendan

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Found this rather easy today, got a couple of answers that were connected by 11, 19 and 26, got these, and then the rest of the related answers very soon after. Lots of … Read more >>

Independent 6,958/Morph

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Always good to get the chance to blog a Morph puzzle. You can be fairly sure there’ll be a good selection of cheeky, inventive clues and a decent challenge along the way. And … Read more >>

Financial Times 12991 / Neo

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This puzzle has four 14-letter phrases, each of which are in two slots in the grid. I generally don’t like this kind of splitting but to the credit of the composer I must … Read more >>

Guardian 24,613 – Taupi

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dd = double definition cd = cryptic definition rev = reversed or reversal ins = insertion cha = charade ha = hidden answer *(fodder) = anagram Quite a challenging puzzle; mostly enjoyable except … Read more >>

Guardian Genius 67 / Shed

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The hidden theme of this excellent crossword is “Composers”: most uses of the letter C in the clues should be read as “composer” for the clue to make sense. This perhaps wasn’t as … Read more >>

Independent 6957 by Merlin

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*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone A Groundhog Day themed puzzle, although the joke of having the phrase appear three times owed more to the Bill Murray film than the weather forecasting event. I think … Read more >>

Authorwise search

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Sometime ago a kind soul had given a tip (among the comments here) on how to marshal all the posts of a particular blogger. I found it useful. Now I am unable to … Read more >>

Guardian 24,612/Rufus

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Three Guardian blogs in a row – people will be getting sick of the sight of me! Anyway, a nice gentle Rufus for this snowy morning. I particularly liked 15ac and 27ac for … Read more >>

Guardian 24,605/Brummie

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A tough puzzle from Brummie, with a theme that eluded me for some time. The first thematic answer I got was CLOSE, which made me think they were all cricketers. It was only … Read more >>

Financial Times 12,988 / Bradman

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I found this generally up to Bradman’s usual high standard, with some good clues, but unfortunately there appears to be one significant error (4a). I am also not too happy with the wordplay … Read more >>

Independent 6,955/Phi

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A very quick solve for me on this one, but equally a very enjoyable one. I’ve been trying my hand at writing a few puzzles of my own of late and there’s so … Read more >>

Guardian 24,610/Arachne

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A fairly tricky puzzle from Arachne which I’ve been intermittently struggling with all morning in between trying to get some work done. Some nice clues, but I think 4dn is very poor, and … Read more >>