Independent 6,797/Virgilius
I found this pretty tough going, not least because I completely failed to see what was going on until very late on. The theme is the Old Testamant (6D), books of which can … Read more >>
Financial Times 12832 / by Quark
I solved Ac 7,10,12,15,18,20,24,25,29 when I had to move to the Dn set where I got 6,7,8,15,25,16,19,29 before all the others. The top left corner was the last to be completed. Last Tuesday … Read more >>
Guardian 24,453/Paul – pride of place
Paul’s name always tells us that the puzzle will be tough but fun, and so it was with this one. It looked particularly daunting at first with some long answers and lots of … Read more >>
Guardian 24,452 – Arachne
dd = double definition cd = cryptic definition rev = reversed or reversal ins = insertion cha = charade ha = hidden answer *(fodder) = anagram I have just been told that this … Read more >>
Independent 6796 by Merlin
*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed An anagram-heavy puzzle from Merlin with some good long anagrams and a couple of excellent &literals. There were a couple (17 across and 19 down) I didn’t completely follow. Across … Read more >>
Azed 1886
Solving time : about a day (but it was my birthday, so I was distracted). Loads of unfamiliar words this week, and some excellent surface readings (e.g. 19 across). I found the south-west … Read more >>
Guardian 24,445 – Enigmatist
From Saturday Prize Crossword 19 July 2008 Common abbreviations used dd = double definition cd = cryptic definition rev = reversed or reversal ins = insertion cha = charade ha = hidden answer … Read more >>
Independent 6,794/Math – KAPOW!
So now we know why Phi was ousted from his usual Friday slot. Today sees the release of the much-advertised new Batman movie, The Dark Knight, and the completed grid here has a … Read more >>
Guardian, 24450/Gordius
I found this a pretty tough puzzle for my first posting here. There were lots of interesting and satisfying clues, though, and several words that were new to me. Across 8 CO-INHERE: or … Read more >>
FINANCIAL TIMES 12,829 by VIKING
Not quite as difficult as Wednesday’s CINEPHILE but some slightly tricky wordplay in places particularly, for me, 16d. However, once I had worked this out I had to smile at its cleverness. . … Read more >>
Independent 6789/Phi (19-07-08)
Spot the Nina time: the top and bottom rows of unchecked letters have SHOPPING PRECINCT. Inside the grid, there’s MARKS and SPENCER, along with BOOTS and BORDERS (although I guess one or both … Read more >>
Inquisitor 81 – QUESTION AND ANSWER by Quixote
A fairly light puzzle from Quixote this week, though I don’t mean that in a bad way. I worked through the puzzle very quickly, for me, getting stuck on just one of the … Read more >>
Independent 6793 by Morph
This was a very clever themed puzzle, the theme of which became clear to me only at the very end. Solving time, 51 mins * = anagram < = reversed 1 L EADERLESS … Read more >>
Guardian 24,449, Brendan – A Shaw Thing
A great themed puzzle from Brendan for my first blog – based around George Bernard Shaw and My Fair Lady. I really enjoyed doing this but had recourse to wikipedia for some of … Read more >>
FINANCIAL TIMES No. 12,828, Set by Orense
DON’T SLEEP IN THE SUBWAY, BABY. An easier puzzle after Gaufrid’s task yesterday with his Tiffany cats. Rather a lot of anagrams again, but some ingenious ways of signalling them. ACROSS 1. … Read more >>