Guardian 24,474/Gordius
I don’t much like this grid, with its four almost-isolated corners. Luckily there were enough easyish clues in each corner to get me going, though the SE corner held me up for a … Read more >>
Inquisitor 85 LOTTERY by Schadenfreude
Good stuff from Schadenfreude. Educational too! I spotted BARTHOLOMEW and hence the theme for the “complete set” early which made it fairly simple to fill in the most of the lights. The exception was … Read more >>
Independent 6817 by Tees
This was very tough indeed. I found the NW quadrant absolutely fiendish, but got there in the end. Solving time, 67 minutes. As in previous puzzles by Tees, this draws on very wide … Read more >>
Financial Times No. 12,852 Set by FLIMSY, August 21, 2008
I have to say I found this a boring puzzle with some clues so obvious that I yawned. 6d made me think for a while, and 13a held me up until I remembered … Read more >>
Independent on Sunday 966 by Quixote (17 Aug 2008)
I found this on the easy side – solving time, 11 mins. * = anagram < = reversed ACROSS 1 WOLF RAM 5 C (HIS) EL(l) his = the man’s prison room = … Read more >>
Guardian 24,473 – Paul
dd = double definition cd = cryptic definition rev = reversed or reversal ins = insertion cha = charade ha = hidden answer *(fodder) = anagram Another delightful assigment as I get to … Read more >>
Financial Times 12,842 by Cinephile
Here’s a Cinephile puzzle with a non-cryptic theme – synonyms of “crazy”. While it has a few fine clues (I like 12A, 14A and 27A), it also has a one that I do … Read more >>
Financial Times 12,843 – Falcon
From Monday Prize Crossword – 11 August 2008 dd = double definition cd = cryptic definition rev = reversed or reversal ins = insertion cha = charade ha = hidden answer *(fodder) = … Read more >>
Independent 6816/Dac
Across 1 BE in (ANIMAL)* – LIMA BEAN. 10 MIDDLE-AGE SPREAD – I can’t decide if this is a cryptic definition or if there’s some aspect of the wordplay that I’m missing because … Read more >>
FINANCIAL TIMES 12,851 by CINEPHILE
A tricky one from Araucaria in the Guardian yesterday and a similar offering from Cinephile in today’s FT. There was a gentle hint at the beginning that ‘the works are similar’ which helped … Read more >>
Guardian 24,472/Logodaedalus
A fairly enjoyable puzzle. The wording of some of the clues seemed a little odd to me. Across 7 BANDAGES BAND(AGE)S 9 OPORTO O(PORT)O 10 SKIN S+KIN = HIDE 11 ELEMENTARY cryptic def. … Read more >>
Independent 6815/Morph
This took ages — Morph seems to be getting very difficult nowadays. This wasn’t helped by the fact that there were some answers that appear a bit tenuous, although it’s more likely that … Read more >>
Guardian, 24471/Araucaria
This was a difficult puzzle today, I thought, although I tend to find Araucaria’s crosswords harder than the other Guardian setters. As usual, there are some really satisfying clues here and great surface … Read more >>
Financial Times 12850 / Armonie
Neither too easy nor too hard, this puzzle has neat clues. I must admit that I had an unusually slow start but I completed it in much less than 30 minutes. The bottom left … Read more >>
Independent 6814 by Punk
*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed Some very tricky, well disguised clues today. Mostly very good, but I thought 6 down was taking things a bit too far. Across 8 Japanese lantern: very convoluted but I … Read more >>