Guardian 23,930 by Chifonie – Uninspiring stuff
Solving time – 10-12 minutes This is my first entry in this blog, and also the first time in a while that I have come across Chifonie. I am not terribly impressed. I … Read more >>
Independent 6271 – Making Sense of Virgilius
Solving Time: 18 minutes After yesterday’s enjoyable Tees puzzle, the momentum of the excellence of the recent Indy puzzles continued with today’s puzzle by Virgilius, although the brilliance of most of the puzzle … Read more >>
Guardian 23929/Paul — 24ac?
Solving time : 20-60 minutes (see below). I spent a lot of time looking at this on the bus but at the end of a 40 minute journey I had just a few … Read more >>
Independent 6270/Tees – The Two Ronnies
Solving time: 7:45 I really liked this puzzle on the theme of 11s (coincidentally the first clue I solved), though I wonder if I have missed some of the thematic references. A very … Read more >>
Guardian 23928/Rufus – good clean fun.
Solving time: 20’ Some clever puns and by no means a surfeit of clichés. Quite enjoyable with satisfying surfaces. Across 5 CORPUS – Body of work and physical body. 9 SINECURE – somewhat … Read more >>
Observer 3137/Everyman – Americanisms…
Done sporadically during a very pleasant afternoon in Geneva mainly drinking wine, eating ice-cream, coffee then dinner. Followed by more drink and cakes. After about 4 glasses of wine, crosswords don’t seem very … Read more >>
Guardian 23,921/Araucaria – tough thematic puzzle
Solving time 24:41 This was a nice example of the kind of challenge that has made Araucaria probably the best-loved cryptic setter we have. The theme turns out to be a subset of … Read more >>
Independent 6263/Nimrod – W O N T O N C U D
I got confused about who was writing what and wrote stuff on both of last Saturday’s puzzles. So this one is a duplicate… another excuse for putting it up is that I referred to links … Read more >>
Independent Saturday Prize Puzzle 6263 by Nimrod
Solving Time: 23 minutes An enjoyable Saturday romp from Nimrod with a topical theme given the recently announced departure of Des from Countdown. If the puzzle had a weakness, it was that Countdown … Read more >>
Independent 6268/Nimrod – Frankly, my dear, I stalled on 5 down
Solving time: 11:05 Not the easiest, but I think I made a bit of a meal of some of this, although there were a few difficult words. Nimrod continues a recent theme of … Read more >>
Guardian 23,926 by Logodaedalus
Pretty straightforward, took four to five tube stops (10-12 mins). ACROSS 9 ABODE. AB + ode – has anyone had to use the abbreviation for Able Seaman outside crossword-land? Sailor can also give ‘tar’ … Read more >>
Independent on Sunday 874 by Quixote Easy and good
I found this very easy, solved in 13 mins. Typical Quixote style, light in cultural references, homing in on the everyday experience of the solver.Simple constructions with, I think, just three complete anagrams. … Read more >>
Independent 6267 by Phi – Typical high quality puzzle, average in difficulty
Everything perfectly constructed, wording to set you off on the wrong track at first in some cases. Solved in 18 mins – about average for me for a Phi Indy. ACROSS 7 PRINT … Read more >>
Guardian 23925/Orlando
Solving time – 11:17 Would have been about three minutes quicker but I got stuck on 1ac(!) and 2dn – from the checking letters I saw SANG FROID, which I knew didn’t make … Read more >>
Guardian 23924/Araucaria – no cross-references!
Solving time: Bits and pieces in about 1h For the first time in my (limited) Araucarian experience, nary a cross-referenced clue. Not much need for a dictionary either: though 14D, while making some … Read more >>