Independent 6458/Dac
Across 1 PAT,C,ASH(e) – excellent topical clue. 9 P in SOHO,MORE – one of the last 2 or 3 answers to go. “Part of London again” had me puzzled for a while. 10 … Read more >>
Financial Times 12,486 by Cincinnus
Prize puzzle from the Weekend FT of June 16, 2007 Across 1. ENGLANDER – *(GREENLAND) 6. TORCH – double definition. 9. STAID – homophone 10. NOTEPAPER – reverse(ETON) + PAPER. Very clever! 11. … Read more >>
FT 12,495 by Cinephile
At first glance this looked liked it could be one of those lesser-spotted species, a totally athematic Cinephile puzzle. But it turned out that there was actually a healthy dose of climate change … Read more >>
Azed 1829
Apologies for a late Azed report – can’t remember my time for this, or how much I used the big red book – I re-solved from memory after prematurely chucking the original. Across … Read more >>
Independent 6457/Morph – Stepping down
Fantastic puzzle from “one of us” with a very clever and very topical theme. You probably know the game where you have to change one word into another in a certain number of … Read more >>
Guardian 24,114/Brendan – I may be missing something?
Given the number of black squares in the grid and the lack of difficulty in this puzzle, I was expecting there to be a theme, but, if it’s there, I can’t find it. … Read more >>
Independent 6456/Virgilius
A fairly easy Virgilius today with no obvious theme other than the inter-linking of a couple of the long entries. Though someone will now tell me that a knight’s move sequence reveals something … Read more >>
Financial Times 12494/Crux – Not quite an 1A 27A.
Another FT, another new name for me. I really enjoyed this one – lots of excellent clues and just the right amount of difficulty. Across 1 (PUT ONE’S HAND)* – nice anagram and … Read more >>
Guardian 24113/Paul – are you a salopette?
Felt a bit Araucarian today – surfaces sacrificed at the altar of clever wordplay. I had to look up SALOPETTE – which I think is contrived (derived from SALOP which I recognized as … Read more >>
Independent 6455 by Tees
Some pleasing material here from this inventive setter. Solving time: 25 mins * = anagram ACROSS 1 COAT OF ARMS (A from Ascot)* Did not see this till late on. “becomes” indicates … Read more >>
Guardian 24,112, Rufus: Man is an Island
A pretty straightforward Monday solve (10 mins-ish), tightly clued and accessible as ever, with quite a few anagrams and lots of cryptic definitions – some very good, others a tad obvious. About half the answers came … Read more >>
Everyman 3168
Not too taxing and therefore perfect for a Sunday morning, especially if Saturday night went on too long and you’re in desperate need of a 23A or similar restorative. Across 8 AIR<,LAND in … Read more >>
Inquisitor 24/Loda – Mucking About
Sorry for the delay in getting this blog ready, but I struggled with this puzzle, because I couldn’t work out the device required to fill the grid. As usual when I seek inspiration, … Read more >>
Guardian 24,105 (Sat 16 Jun)/Araucaria – Green lights
Solving time: 7:16 I’m not sure I’ve ever solved an Araucaria puzzle faster than this. ‘Collie’ was my first solve, followed (via a look at 27ac) by ‘flour’ and then somehow an inspired … Read more >>
FT 12491 by Falcon
An enjoyable puzzle and just about the right degree of difficulty for a Friday, I felt. A pretty eclectic spectrum of clues, including everything from a couple of pre-historic chestnuts (e.g. the ETON/NOTE … Read more >>