Independent 6527/Merlin – Wizard!
Superb puzzle but tricky in places and a reminder that Monday is not always easy-day in the Independent. There’s a lot to admire in this but I thought that 1A,10A,20A and 4D were … Read more >>
Guardian 24184/ Rufus Gentle start to the week.
I finished this more swiftly than any other Guardian crossword I have completed, taking 9 minutes. There didn’t seem much to stretch one’s mind, but maybe that’s a good thing for Monday morning. … Read more >>
Guardian 24182/Auster – Strange Fruit
The link for the Across clues is that these are all fruit grown in Australia. Some of them are not at all Pom-friendly, and without the Internet, and especially http://www.campionandcurtis.com/seasonal.html, I would have … Read more >>
Independent 6525 by Phi
I found this fairly straightforward. Solving time: 15 mins. (LATER: there is a Nina here that I missed though I did look, but another has pointed it out. I refer to it … Read more >>
Beelzebub 916/Phi (02-09-07)
This was probably one of the easiest advanced puzzles I’ve ever completed but it was a very satisfying solve. I only needed Chambers on a couple of occasions and there were some great … Read more >>
Independent 6520/Nestor (08-09-07)
Across 1 (PTA I CURB SCHOOL)* – CLAUSTROPHOBIC. Easy anagram to spot; it’s always nice to get a long answer quickly as it gives you lots of Down clues to work on. 10 … Read more >>
Guardian 24177 / Araucaria
I enjoyed this crossword, which was on the whole straightforward but with interesting nuggets of information – 8 AC, and some amusing clues – 18Dn. Posted by Simply Simon Peters Across 7 LONG … Read more >>
Inquisitor 36/Kea – Olympic Jigsaw
Jigsaw puzzles like this add a new element to solving a barred crossword, because you have to solve a significant percentage of the clues before you can start placing them in the grid. … Read more >>
Guardian 24,181, Orlando: Fr*ggin’ ‘ard
The title refers to a French rococo painter (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Honor%C3%A9_Fragonard) whose name I eventually guessed once I had all the letters. But I did find this one pretty tough, and I don’t think it was just my … Read more >>
Independent 6524/Scorpion
Very tough, as we’ve come to expect from Scorpion. I actually managed to fill the grid pretty quickly – about 30 mins – but, as you’ll see from the blog, there was a … Read more >>
Independent on Sunday 917 by Quixote
Solving time: 21 mins. Held up for some time by thinking a very well-known actress had a U in her name though there was none in the anagram fodder (6 across). In line … Read more >>
Financial Times 12,552 by Cinephile
This is one of those characteristic Cinephile puzzles with a theme that carries through the longest entries and into a few of the short ones. Spot the theme quickly as I did and … Read more >>
FT 12,561/Cinephile – Almost Plain Jane
Not too tricky, by Cinephile’s standards, with the Jane Austen mini-theme being familiar enough that even a lit-twit like me could twig it early on. Having just logged on to post this, I … Read more >>
Guardian 24,180/Araucaria – One for the bibliophiles
A literary romp from Araucaria – five of the down answers are the names of books and there’s at least two more literary reference among the clues. Great fun, just a shame that … Read more >>
Independent 6523/Dac
A quickish pleasurable solve with a couple of tricky clues and new words (for me). Once I’d found some of his well-hidden definitions, Dac’s cluing left no doubts for even the toughest of … Read more >>