Independent 6281/Nimrod – This old man …
This puzzle was obviously something out of the ordinary as soon as I looked at the grid and saw the ‘extended H’ shape made by black squares in the middle. Sure enough, 1/2/6/7 … Read more >>
Independent 6286/Nimrod – Hat trick
Solving time: 14:20, of which 5 mins on 8ac and 1dn. Nimrod continues his recent theme of epic constructions today: just 22 clues in this puzzle, which includes six crossing 15-letter words and … Read more >>
Guardian 23,944: Thank Puck it’s Friday
Is it just me, or have the crosswords been getting harder since we started reviewing them? This one took a good half-hour, with half a dozen or so clues coming quickly, then a … Read more >>
Independent on Sunday 877 by Quixote – Some clever misdirection and puns
Some very clever misdirection and puns in this puzzle. Solving time, 23 mins * = anagram ACROSS 10 C(h)OPPER Busy = slang for policeman 12 f(ACTOR)y Workplace “not taking sides” 14 PHILATELISTS late … Read more >>
Independent 6285 / Monk What you see might not be what you get!
Solving time: 34 minutes Life is full of worries and paradoxes. Mrs Dale (for those of us of an age) always worried about Jim. Me? I worry about Simon McStraphanger. Who he, I … Read more >>
Guardian 23943/Paul – Duffer
Solving time: 13:59, with one careless mistake (22dn) plus another I’m not sure of (1d). Some very clever clues today with largely convincing surfaces, and just a couple of Guardianisms (25ac, 7d), by … Read more >>
Independent 6284/Dac
Solving time : 20 minutes A good quality puzzle, as usual, from Dac. The puzzle had what felt like a preponderance of proper names in the answers, the wordplay and a few clues: … Read more >>
Guardian 23942/Araucaria – Celery! Apples! Walnuts! Grapes!
Solving time: 20 mins (1 missing) I found the bottom left half harder than the top right, but had almost finished after 10 mins. I then spent another 10 trying unsuccessfully to make … Read more >>
Guardian 23941/Brummie
Around 20 minutes. A fairly straightforward puzzle for me with a few long anagrams providing a good start and very fair clues. Across 1 SINGLE FIGURES — This got me for a while … Read more >>
Independent 6283 by Virgilius – Easy theme, some gems
I pencilled BURDEN in over-confidently for 8 Across. This delayed me. Solved in just under 20 mins, a bit slower than usual for Virgilius, where a theme usually becomes clear to help the … Read more >>
Independent 6282/Phi – It only feels like yesterday…
I don’t think I’ve ever seen a compiler appear so soon after their previous appearance (we saw Phi just last Friday). Not that I’m complaining. I’ll add my name to list of Phi’s … Read more >>
Guardian 23940/Rufus – it ALL came together
Solving time: 20’ I stared at this puzzle for a few minutes, scanning clues, until one of the long ones clicked: ALL OVER THE PLACE. From that point on things went rather more … Read more >>
Azed 1800 “Sly Oaf” – excellent thematic crossword
Solving time 1:03:33. A rare thematic puzzle from Azed this week to mark puzzle no. 1800. There’s an extra letter in every clue which has to be removed before solving. These letters in … Read more >>
Everyman 3139 – wasn’t paying attention
I wasn’t paying attention and that’s what I filled in at 11A instead of ATTENTIVE which made the NE corner a spot of bother. Nice puzzle with good balance of clue types. If … Read more >>
Guardian 23933/Araucaria
Typically Araucarian puzzle with a theme of coloured butterflys. There was a nice bit of deception in the note above the puzzle which said that the four undefined clues “were connected with a … Read more >>