Guardian 24,470 – Rufus
I found this fairly easy going, even for a Monday. Mainly composed of a few anagrams, double-definitions and more than the usual amount of cryptic definitions, it was a nice distraction but not … Read more >>
Private Eye/Cyclops Crossword 371 – Easy does it
I don’t note solving times but maybe I ought to start as I’m pretty sure I must’ve had a Personal Best for this one. Must’ve been about 15 minutes. There was nothing here … Read more >>
Azed 1889
Solving time 43:08, Chambers used when grid about half full – but one probable wrong answer. A fairly straightforward puzzle I think – took about half as long as Mephisto. In my current … Read more >>
Guardian 24,463 – Araucaria
From Prize Crossword 24,463 – 9 August 2008 dd = double definition cd = cryptic definition rev = reversed or reversal ins = insertion cha = charade ha = hidden answer *(fodder) = … Read more >>
Guardian goes free – part 2
Further to the initial announcement here’s what the crossword editor says about the free service: “[What] the crossword site now offers you (and from September 1 anyone else who logs on to guardian.co.uk/crossword) … Read more >>
Independent 6812/Phi
Only 24 clues here, which I think is about as few as it’s reasonably possible to have in a 15-by-15 crossword where the Ximenean edict of having no answers with more unchecked than … Read more >>
Guardian 24,468 – Brendan
A very entertaining crossword, with two strong interconnected themes and a very neat trick of having three famous people’s names sitting in the grid (17 21 7, 2 23 7 and 17 6), … Read more >>
FINANCIAL TIMES 12,847 by MUDD
A bit of a mixed bag from Mudd today. Some good clues and one or two where I am a little less than happy with the wordplay or definition. Nothing too difficult and … Read more >>
Independent 6807/Eimi
Nice puzzle from The Editor with an appropriate Nina for a puzzle that appeared the day after that amazing opening ceremony in Beijing: in the unchecked letters on the grid perimeter we see … Read more >>
Inquisitor 84 — ‘Twas ever thus? by Phi
This was an oddly coincidental puzzle for me. I bought the paper on my way to Nottingham for an Open University residential school. I spent the week studying mathematical modelling and, in particular, … Read more >>
Independent 6,811/Scorpion
This was a stiff challenge for a weekday I thought, particularly the right-hand side of the grid which was all but empty after my first attempt. Managed to chip away at it eventually, … Read more >>
Independent on Sunday 965 by Quixote (10 Aug 2008)
Solving time, 18 mins * = anagram ACROSS 1 Actor Kevin SPACEY – in a dreamy state (adj) – N American usage 5 SECOND Double definition with split at Extra/time 8 HER(m)ITAGE Tricky … Read more >>
Guardian 244,67/Araucaria
Yet another very enjoyable offering from Araucaria. I got 25/26ac immediately and the various types of pear followed quickly. Several clues involved bits of what is perhaps slightly obscure general knowledge (e.g. 18ac, … Read more >>
FT 12,846/Bradman
I found this less challenging than usual for Bradman. Nothing fundamentally wrong with that; the clueing is as watertight and scrupulously fair as ever. And the fact that I’m uncertain whether I have … Read more >>
Financial Times 12,836 by Cincinnus
I purchased my copy of the FT containing this puzzle at the railway station in Wörgl, Austria, a place I had never heard of until I found myself changing trains there while heading … Read more >>