Guardian 24314/Rufus
One of Rufus’s easier offerings for the most part, with some real beginners’ clues. Look at the first 4 across clues – you have easy examples of the 4 basic clue types: anagram, … Read more >>
Private Eye/Cyclops 358 – Hello Sailor!
A lot of comedic sailors in the puzzle answers this time, what with PRATFALL crossing with SLAPSTICK and a raft of TARS, SALTS, SAILORS, RATINGS and SEAMEN. Strangely, I hadn’t noticed this mini-theme … Read more >>
AZED 1863
Solving time: not recorded, but I did finish this without looking anything up. 8/11 were the last two to go in. A couple of quibbles at 12 and 35, and some of the … Read more >>
Guardian 24,307 (Sat 9 Feb)/Araucaria – Water torture
Solving time: About 30 mins; two missing, one wrong. I made an absolute pig’s ear of this puzzle. After a slow start I unravelled most of it, but with some very dull moments … Read more >>
Independent puzzles online – an update
Good news for those of you wanting to try the Independent cryptic – puzzles are now available online on the same day as they appear in the newspaper (Saturday puzzles are still a … Read more >>
Independent 6656 / Phi – Fairly straightforward
Solving time: 12 minutes After yesterday’s tough Nimrod, and a generally tricky week all round in most papers, this made a nice change with a straightforward Phi challenge. 4ac was a bit of a tease … Read more >>
Guardian 24312/Brummie
Solving time – 17:05 This started out fairly straightforward and I made good progress, thinking I was going to finish inside 10 minutes for a while. Then I got stuck in two places, … Read more >>
Independent 6651/Nestor
I found this very tough but a thoroughly enjoyable solve. Lots of great clues (my personal favourite is 12a), and a very clever touch at 19 and 20d. I’m still unsure about 17a, … Read more >>
Inquisitor 58 – EVE by Schadenfreude
The preamble to the puzzle indicated that it included 12 unclued entries, four of which (11a, 35a, 22d and 24d) would represent a recent sequence in the correct order. Four pairs of the … Read more >>
Guardian 24311/Quantum
Too many cryptic definitions for my taste. The answers I’ve not blogged are probably CDs. Quantum’s best clues here are the short simple clues rather than the CDs. * = anagram < = … Read more >>
Independent 6655/Nimrod
I found this very tough but fun. There are still a few clues that I don’t fully understand though – 10a, 25a,27a and 18d. There’s also a Valentine’s Day Nina in the unchecked … Read more >>
Independent on Sunday 939 by Quixote (10 Feb 2008)
Not too difficult a puzzle, I thought. Solving time, 15 mins. All the four 15-letter entries were direct anagrams. Notes on some clues below – happy to explain others if asked. ACROSS 1 … Read more >>
Financial Times 12,681 by Falcon
I do not recall coming across Falcon before and am almost sure I have not done a Weekend FT puzzle by this compiler. I found this particular one very easy which is a … Read more >>
Independent 6654/Dac
As usual from Dac, very efficient pleasant clues with good surfaces. Across 1 dropPED LARge. A well-concealed hidden, which was one of the last I did. 9 A(S)LOPE I think. I only have … Read more >>
Guardian, 24310/Araucaria
A toughie for my first blog – I’ll be busy most of the day so I’m posting this early. I’ve filled in the grid and everything looks more or less right, but I’m … Read more >>