Independent 6,321/Phi – nice ‘n’ easy does it
This is my first blog entry for a daily Independent crossword, and I got a nice gentle introduction. This was a comparatively easy crossword (10 minutes to solve) with solid clueing and a … Read more >>
Guardian 23,978: Type O
A couple of tougher clues, but a pretty standard puzzle really. The bottom right corner held out longest, helped by a typo in 18 down – ell for eel (see below). Across: 1. … Read more >>
Inquisitor #2 – ALTERNATIVES by PLOY
I have never come across the pseudonym Ploy before, so I don’t know who compiled this highly topical puzzle. I got off to a very quick start, realising that certain squares had two … Read more >>
Guardian 23977/Brummie
We had an excellent night out in London last night with bloggers from here and Pete Biddlecombe’s Times for the Times blog, Tony Sever (RTC2) and a few setters too. A possible side-effect … Read more >>
Sloggers and Betters – The morning after…
Last night’s gathering was thoroughly enjoyable. We had a few drinks at a pub in Charlotte Street before heading off to the world’s most crowded tapas restaurant, also in Charlotte Street. We were … Read more >>
Independent 6320/Monk – Come Dancing
I usually find Monk quite difficult but this wasn’t too tricky. I guessed the phrase that appears in the unchecked letters on the sides of the grid fairly early on so I filled … Read more >>
Independent 6320 / Dac – Dodgy Underwear
Solving time: 18 mins (Apologies for the late posting, a misunderstanding in an email to blame!) Wednesday is always a good Indy day, as Dac is a reliable source of a safe, sound … Read more >>
Sloggers and Betters
Tonight sees the first get-together of some of the contributors to Fifteensquared, Times for the Times and the new RTC Times2 blog, with a few setters thrown in for good measure. It’s the … Read more >>
Guardian 23,976 – Guess the Setter?
For early birds, the online version of today’s puzzle provided the solver with a challenge – “Guess the Setter”. The setter’s name didn’t appear in the crossword heading, however it did appear in … Read more >>
Independent 6318 by Virgilius – couples
Whether it was deliberate after the Bannsider debut yesterday, this was very straightforward. I’d everything, except one, solved in 12 mins, but that took me another 10 mins to get so solving time … Read more >>
Guardian 23975/Brendan – back to the books
A literary feast with clever use of grid geometry. I was helped by incidentally having a copy of “The New Yorker” next to me with the name JULIAN BARNES (1A, 4A) on the … Read more >>
Independent 6317 / A warm welcome to Bannsider
Solving time: 43 minutes I rushed to the paper this morning to see who would be the author of today’s challenge and was surprised to spy a new name Bannsider. First thought is … Read more >>
Guardian 23974/Rufus – unfaulty
I did the Times2 Concise today which is why “unfaulty” is on my mind. As per usual, I find Rufus’s style to be clean, with good surfaces and not very complicated wordplay. I … Read more >>
Everyman 3145/Jan 7 – Polchard and neroli
A leftover xmas clue (7D) and two new words. The nice thing about Everyman is that Chambers isn’t strictly necessary usually if you have the courage of your wordplay convictions: e.g. POCHARD and … Read more >>
Independent 6310/Monk – In addition
Even before you’d filled in a single answer, you knew that there was something else going on in this puzzle: the plus signs in 2 across and 2 down clues, 8 more in … Read more >>