Independent on Sunday 878 by Quixote – as tough as any of his this year for me
When I solve a clue and think I’m certain I won’t have to go back to verify it, I tick the clue number in the paper. This is usually the case if I … Read more >>
Independent 6292/ Phi – The Phi’s Have It
Solving time: 24 minutes If there were to be awards for consistent setting, I am sure Phi would in with a shout of the award. His puzzles are always entertaining and are just about … Read more >>
Guardian 23,950, Orlando: A puzzle of two halves
In keeping with Orlando’s divided personality, perhaps, there seemed to be an easy half and a difficult half to this puzzle – not that I’m assigning a specific gender to either! I got … Read more >>
Guardian 23949/Araucaria
Solving time – about 45 mins. This was a real brute of a puzzle from Araucaria. I struggled all the way with it, but there were some obscure words and a couple of … Read more >>
Independent 6291 / Math – You only solve once …
… unless you need to write up a blog entry, in which case you can often spot extra points while writing up these notes. it took me quite a while to identify the … Read more >>
Independent 6290/Dac – 2D than the average setter
Quality stuff. I can only repeat something a fellow blogger said about Dac, that aspiring setters should study his clues and learn from them. His puzzles aren’t particularly tough and they don’t have … Read more >>
Guardian 23948/Brendan – The I’s have it!
(If I were clever enough, I’d write this entry using only one vowel, but I ain’t, so here goes.) Solving time – 7 mins Given the restriction that the setter has imposed upon … Read more >>
Independent 6289 by Virgilius – Poets aplenty!
Giving away no secrets with that. “Poet” appears as full or partial definition in twelve clues, and another two as part of wordplay. Impressed that, despite these constraints, (a) the other words in the puzzle were normal … Read more >>
Guardian 23947/Gordius – lots of wordplay
Quite a bit of complex wordplay in this puzzle. A couple of obscure allusions but nonetheless accessible. Across 1 COM(PUT)E – A tour de force pushing the cryptic envelope: here’s the clue: “Number … Read more >>
Independent 6288/Mordred – Fishy
Solving time: 12:37, held up by two pairs at the end; one mistake (1dn), or perhaps two (19dn). I think this is Mordred’s second puzzle in the Independent. Like his first, this contained … Read more >>
Guardian 23946/Rufus – silly goose
Standard fair Rufus. A couple of containment issues below. Curious what people think about their soundness. Across 10 (victo)R+OUGH – Last letter of Victor followed by (Hugo)*. “Poorly” is the definition 11 NEED(L)ED … Read more >>
Everyman 3140/2nd time round
Solved this when it was published last week, wrote up my notes and then promptly misplaced them which I just discovered. Turns out that solving a puzzle the 2nd time round, when you … Read more >>
Guardian 23,939/Paul – How’s that?
A puzzle with a cricketing theme, appropriately enough for a time when the Ashes are being decided. Not sure how much fun this would have been for those with no interest or knowledge … Read more >>
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 >>