Fifteensquared – Page 1579 – Never knowingly undersolved

Guardian 24,589 – Orlando

Tue January 6, 2009 at 7:10 am by Uncle Yap

dd = double definition cd = cryptic definition rev = reversed or reversal ins = insertion cha = charade ha = hidden answer *(fodder) = anagram Not that difficult a puzzle. Quite entertaining … Read more >>

Guardian Genius 66: Animals, by Araucaria

Sat March 14, 2009 at 11:48 pmMon January 5, 2009 at 3:19 pm by jetdoc

I found this puzzle fun to do, once I got the hang of how it worked. In each across clue, the definition gives a word containing either ASS, PIG, EWE or CAT; the … Read more >>

Guardian 24,588/Rufus

Mon January 5, 2009 at 12:54 pm by Andrew

My first day back at work after Christmas (boo!), and it’s back to traditional scheduling with a gentle Rufus puzzle. I’m unsure about my explanation of 19ac and unhappy about 26ac. Key: dd … Read more >>

Independent 6933 by Hypnos

Mon January 5, 2009 at 11:12 am by NealH

*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone I found this surprisingly easy, given it was littered with the sort of clues that I normally struggle with (e.g. double definitions involving the names of celebrities). Most of … Read more >>

Private Eye/Cyclops 381 – Pretentious? Moi?

Mon January 5, 2009 at 5:54 amMon January 5, 2009 at 12:15 am by beermagnet

This Xmas special was worth looking forward to. 27×27 grid plus usual longish Cyclops clues must be the limit for a page in the Eye. The special feature this year was that 12 … Read more >>

Azed 1909: The Frogs and The Birds

Sun January 4, 2009 at 5:17 pmSun January 4, 2009 at 12:52 pm by jetdoc

Better late than never, I hope. This was an Azed I could not have done without a dictionary, with several words I didn’t know, and a few unusual senses; but that’s the fun … Read more >>

Guardian 24,581 (Sat 27 Dec)/Brummie – Bookish

Sat January 3, 2009 at 11:14 pm by rightback

Solving time: 35 mins It would be fair to say that I wasn’t firing on all cylinders when solving this puzzle. The clearest evidence was the five minutes I wasted trying to find … Read more >>

Guardian (Jumbo) 24,577 (Sat 20 Dec)/Araucaria – Christmas carols

Sat January 3, 2009 at 10:48 pm by rightback

Solving time: 65 mins A very nice Christmas jumbo from Araucaria, with the phrases “We wish you a merry Christmas and a happy new year” and “God rest you merry gentlemen” hidden in … Read more >>

Enigmatic Variations 842 Genius by Flashy-hat

Sat January 3, 2009 at 10:30 am by Colin Blackburn

I’d not come across Flashy-hat before in any of the usual outlets so I wasn’t sure whether to expect heavy meal to keep me eating over the holiday or a light starter before … Read more >>

Azed 1908/Noel

Sat January 3, 2009 at 12:05 am by ilancaron

I solved this with the help of a Google friend (Howard Trickey — thanks!). Unlike a typical Listener, we cracked the theme well before solving all the clues (with the help of … Read more >>

FT 12,964/Falcon

Fri January 2, 2009 at 3:37 pm by smiffy

A fairly gentle pipe-opener to start the year off here. Despite an easy solve, I haven’t fathomed the wordplay behind 5D yet and am clutching at straws somewhat on 13A. Across 1RE,FORM 4 … Read more >>

Independent 6926/Phi (Prize puzzle 27-12-08)

Fri January 2, 2009 at 1:44 pm by neildubya

There’s a partial “12 Days of Christmas” theme, here with 7, 26,27, 3, and 6 appearing in the grid. It seems a bit odd to have an incomplete theme like this, which makes … Read more >>

Independent 6931/Phi

Fri January 2, 2009 at 11:17 am by John

A typically nice Phi. I have one or two quibbles with, or at any rate misgivings about, some of the punctuation, but no doubt all will be explained. I’m off for the weekend … Read more >>

Guardian 24,586/Boatman

Fri January 2, 2009 at 10:21 am by Andrew

Boatman’s third outing in the Guardian, and, completely by coincidence, my third chance to blog him. Another enjoyable puzzle, with some excellent clues – I particularly liked 25ac, 1dn and 19dn. Best wishes … Read more >>

Inquisitor 104: Merry-Go-Round by Eddie

Fri January 2, 2009 at 7:30 am by duncanshiell

The preamble stated that five words (one in a shortened form) of a song title would be spelled out in clue order, by single extra letters generated by wordplay in each of 25 … Read more >>