Guardian 23,999, Paul: ‘Goodbye!’
Apologies for late posting – I’ve been for lunch with the ‘gruntlings’, a group of contestants in the Azed monthly clue-writing comp who meet the week after to compare notes, or just eat, … Read more >>
Independent 6342/Morph
A new setter, I think, and a welcome one. This was a very enjoyable crossword with some excellent witty cluing including a few that might not appeal to Ximenean purists. Morph got a … Read more >>
Guardian 23998/Rufus
Another very easy Monday puzzle from Rufus, although with a better mix of clue types than the last time I blogged one of his puzzles. Still, most of the answers are so obvious … Read more >>
Independent 6341/Mordred
There was a lot to admire in this puzzle but I can’t say that I enjoyed it that much. I found it a bit of slog and I filled in too many (for … Read more >>
Guardian 23,991/Araucaria (Sat 3 Feb) – England’s Mountains Green
Solving time: 30 mins or so, plus about another 10 with Wikipedian assistance to solve 1dn, 10ac and 2dn in the top left and 22ac and 18dn in the bottom right. In stark … Read more >>
Everyman 3149/Feb 4 – don’t panic
All the long clues refer to something a bit intense: OVERBOARD, INTENSIVE CARE, PANIC STATIONS, GREAT SCOT (sic), SHOUTING MATCH, NAIL-BITER. Well, except for UPRIGHT PIANOS (uptight?). One unknown composer at 19D (COATES … Read more >>
Independent 6334/Phi – 4Ding
A trickier than usual puzzle from Phi, which is to be expected for a Saturday. A few words I didn’t know but the wordplay is as fair ever so they weren’t too tricky … Read more >>
Inquisitor #5 / Psyche – ON STAGE
Solving time: at least 4 hours – maybe 6 A theme with an echo of Phi’s Inquisitor #3 – can’t remember doing a Psyche puzzle before, and have no idea who it is. … Read more >>
Guardian 23996/Chifonie
Solving time – around 20 mins, but I had more than half an eye on the cricket! And what a great result for England! A typical Chifonie I suppose – a set of … Read more >>
Independent 6339/Phi
A nice puzzle from Mr Friday-but-also-occasionally-Saturday. Across 1 HR in COME – “on the contrary” here indicates that you should do the reverse of what is indicated by the wordplay. Nice clue, reads … Read more >>
Independent on Sunday 886 by Quixote – Quite easy
Sometimes you can be lucky with a puzzle – the words are familiar or you quickly see how most things work and go through it fast. This happened me with this one to … Read more >>
Independent 6338 by Merlin – Fairly easy
No major problems with this, which had some clever ideas. Solving time: 12 mins (fast for me) * = anagram ACROSS 1 BUCK Double definition 11 SHAM (BL) E BL was British Leyland 12 Martin … Read more >>
Guardian 23995/Araucaria — Oh yes it is!
I don’t think I’ve blogged an Araucaria before so seeing the puzzle this morning worried me a bit. I like Araucaria, in fact my only published Listener puzzle was a tribute to him. … Read more >>
Azed 1809 – an easy one?
Solving time just 22:44 – I normally take at least twice that if not 3 times, so either I was on fire that day or it was a lot easier than usual…(but I … Read more >>
Independent 6,337/Dac
This was a gentle introduction to a Wednesday, mainly because I was able to solve the four longer entries very quickly, thus giving me lots of checked letters. Solving time – about 10 … Read more >>