On blogging, not blogging and commenting
I thought I’d take this opportunity to address some issues that have come under discussion on the blog recently. Missing/Late Posts There have been a few occasions where we haven’t been able to … Read more >>
Guardian 24179/Gordius
Solving time – approx. 20 minutes Another witty and scurrilous (I mean that as a compliment) offering from Gordius today! Really enjoyable to solve, although it required a lot of general knowledge (some … Read more >>
Independent 6522/Virgilius – I say nothing (3)
A corking puzzle from Virgilius with a subtle theme, explained in 17A. (The clue in the blog title is, I think, by Enigmatist – but apologies to the setter concerned if I’ve got … Read more >>
Independent 6521 by Morph
Interesting puzzle with clues ranging from very easy to very tricky. A theme which I think you could not miss if you solved the puzzle – Land’s End and John O’Groats appropriately placed … Read more >>
Guardian 24178/Rufus – Rufus?
Imagine my confusion when I saw a puzzle by Rufus (almost) without a cryptic definition. Mirroring Araucaria’s recent non-cross-referenced puzzle. Across 1 RE,TORT 5 RE,STRICT – the other meaning of RE this time. … Read more >>
Private Eye/Cyclops 347 Watergate / Cuba
Going back in time in US politics in this offering with two men called Dean. Across 7 DEMEANS – ME in DEAN’S – John Dean is the Nixon advisor here. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Dean 8 UP … Read more >>
Azed 1840: Give and take
Another excellent Azed with a twist. Omitted and added letters spell out: IT’S GOOD BUT LETTERS GET IN THE WRONG PLACES. The full quotation from Winnie the Pooh is: “My spelling is Wobbly. … Read more >>
FT 12,577/Flimsy
Some nice touches today but I had to rattle through the puzzle (and this blog) later in the day than usual, so I may not have appreciated all of the nuances fully. Had … Read more >>
Independent 6519/Phi – Land of the Long White Cloud
This made a quick solve for me – possibly because two of my grandparents were from New Zealand and I’m more familiar with the cities than I might otherwise have been. I think … Read more >>
Guardian 24176/Brendan – polyglot
Three alphabets used here: English, Greek and Hebrew though I have a quibble about use of the latter. The preamble made this puzzle quite easy I thought – I suspect it would have … Read more >>
Beelzebub 915/Columba (26-08-07)
This was definitely trickier than the last few Beelzebub puzzles but still very enjoyable. Not sure about the wordplay for 11A though. Across 5 N in UP,LACE – LACE can be a verb … Read more >>
Inquisitor 35 – Three Sixes by Loda
I lied when I said I’d solved this and lost it – I solved most of it and lost it as I discovered in my re-solve. The theme was very easy to spot … Read more >>
Independent 6514/Bannsider (01-09-07)
Very tough but lots of fun. There are a couple of things I’m not sure about here and there and one answer I can get at all (10A) but I thought this was … Read more >>
Independent 6518 by Punk
An excellent puzzle from this very talented setter. Getting some of the longer phrases quickly made it a faster solve than usual for me in the case of the occasional Indy setters. Solving … Read more >>
Guardian 24175, Paul: Going bananas
I’m struggling with computer problems (a dead monitor), so was relieved that this one was pretty straightforward. Across 1 RUGBY FOOTBALL — *(golf brutal boy) 10 TOP BANANA — The star entertainer (see … Read more >>