Independent 6672 by Dac
The usual excellent puzzle from Dac. Good variety, some easier than others as it should be, but all yielding in the end. Solving time, 23 mins. * = anagram < = reversal ACROSS … Read more >>
Guardian 24328/Gordius
Solving time 22:30 A bit of a mix of good and bad clues, easy and hard, and one made-up word at 5D (not in any of my dictionaries anyway, which include the latest … Read more >>
Guardian 24,327/Paul – slip of the tongue
A few surprisingly easy clues from Paul (9a, 19a and 26a especially, all omitted below) started me off on an otherwise enjoyable puzzle with some excellent surface readings. Solving time: 26 minutes, one … Read more >>
Independent 6671/Virgilius
Nice to have Virgilius back again. But where’s the Nina? I hope his cutting back isn’t extending to the clever things he does with the grids, and that it’s simply that I can’t … Read more >>
Financial Times / 12707 by Armonie
Not a difficult puzzle. Some familiar clues (14ac, 19ac, 21dn) provide the starters. First I finished the lower half; in the top half, the left quadrant was the last to be completed. Across … Read more >>
Guardian 24326/Rufus
I always find it difficult to blog Rufus puzzles without sounding churlish. Rufus produces some cracking clues and his puzzles are usually at the easier end of the scale. However, I’m not a … Read more >>
Independent 6670 by Punk
* = anag, < = reversed, () = removed A good mix of clues from Punk, many of them quite deceptive. Across 1 Leeds: homophone of “leads” 4 Trampling: T + Rampling (Charlotte … Read more >>
Azed 1865
My broadband connection was down all weekend, hence the lateness of this report. I managed to do most of this without the dictionary, although I cracked near the end and had to look … Read more >>
Private Eye/Cyclops 359 – Checking letters required
For me, this was harder than usual – I ended up tackling it over three sessions. Yet again I’m not sure everything below is correct or fully explained. As a result I didn’t … Read more >>
Guardian 24,319 (Sat 16 Feb)/Araucaria – River dance
Solving time: 16:08, one mistake The fourteen solutions “of a kind” were rivers hidden in clues, with no other indications. GANGES for the first one I spotted, but I wasn’t quite sure of … Read more >>
Guardian 24324/ Araucaria Friday Fun
I thought this was a terrific crossword, witty, entertaining and erudite. The bad news was that though I solved it I feel that sometimes I had answers without full understanding. So, more than … Read more >>
Independent 6668/Phi
Across 1 (WAS)* in DON – Les DAWSON, my favourite comedian when I was young. 10 WING,C,HAIR 11 TO[-l]KE[-i]N – Tolkein was the first name that sprung to mind when I saw “fantasy … Read more >>
Independent 6663/Scorpion
I have a number of crossword wishes waiting to be carried out by the crossword genie and one of them is for Scorpion puzzles to appear more often. Yes, they are very tough … Read more >>
Inquisitor 60 – Proceedings by Zero
The title – Proceedings – alludes to ‘Carry on’, so this crossword was an entertaining romp down the history of ‘Carry On …….’ films, of which there were twenty-nine original and one compilation … Read more >>
FT 12,703 by Viking
An excellent puzzle, with great manipulation of letters in anagrams in many cases to give &lit clues where the whole clue, as well as providing the wordplay, also gives the definition of the … Read more >>