Everyman 3148/Jan 28 – monocled tunnel vision
Far ranging puzzle: from ENFIELD to the ACROPOLIS. I also learnt that under the Mersey there are several tunnels, and I thought the only way cross the Mersey was via ferry, a la … Read more >>
Guardian 23,985/Paul (Sat 27 Jan) – ‘D’ for Discrepant, expressed profanely
Solving time: 10:57 When I started doing the Guardian I wasn’t so keen on Paul’s puzzles, simply because I wasn’t used to the more liberal style. Now I’m more familiar with Guardianese he’s … Read more >>
Inquisitor #4 – Venus de Milo by Schadenfreude
Once I worked out the theme of this crossword, I rattled through it at a fair rate of knots, and completed all bar 4 clues in about half an hour. Then I got … Read more >>
Independent 6333/Nimrod – Enigmatic
As with my last review of a Nimrod puzzle there were a few clues in this that I didn’t understand so I’m obviously still having problems tuning in. To be fair, I don’t … Read more >>
Guardian 23990/Taupi – Racy
A couple of racy clues and American states. Unrelated. I found myself solving many of the clues from the definition and struggling to work out the wordplay while writing these notes – I … Read more >>
Independent on Sunday 885 by Quixote – not too difficult
I found this one fairly straightforward. Solving time: 14 mins * = anagram ACROSS 5 TEMP O RISE 7 CROW D Murder is a collective word for crows. 10 ANNE LI (51) DAN … Read more >>
Independent 6332 by Punk – Got there in the end
This is Punk’s third puzzle in the Indy. He’s Paul in the Guardian, who I’ve heard praised a lot, but he’s said to be hard, and he also sets in the Times. So I approached … Read more >>
Situation Vacant
We’re looking for another Independent crossword solver to join our team. You’ll need to be able to post once a week (on any weekday as we have a rota which changes each week) … Read more >>
Guardian 23,989, Arachne: Nag a ram, perhaps?
What makes a good anagram indicator? This puzzle combines what, to me, are some excellent anagrinds and some weaker ones, so I thought I’d set out my own personal likes and dislikes. “At … Read more >>
Independent 6331/Dac – Pathé-specific
Solving time: 7:35 A fairly standard offering from Dac today: mostly straightforward clue constructions with a couple of more obscure answers/names and a bit of licence with link words. Is there a political … Read more >>
Independent 6331 / Dac – Tougher than usual
Apologies for the lkate post – my briadband went down and I couldn’t let anyone know! Thanks to a very patient BT person (and no thanks to half a dozen complete incompetents), I … Read more >>
Guardian 23988 / Paul – difficult
Solving time 14:42 Not much to do here, so let’s have a go. This was pretty tough, and there are three clues I don’t understand or can’t quite swallow. For me, these slightly … Read more >>
Independent 6330/Virgilius
Got off to a slow start, then raced through most of the puzzle and ground to a halt with 5A and 2D. I also twigged one part of theme before even solving a … Read more >>
Guardian 23987/Araucaria
An enjoyable puzzle today from Araucaria, which either means that there wasn’t too much non-Ximenean shenanigans going on, or that I’m actually getting used to his style (however, the wordplay escaped me on … Read more >>
Independent 6329 / Math – pretty tough
Solving time 10:00 + ?? Had most of this done in about 8 mins, but was stuck on 5 and 16 – I had an answer for 16 but as it seemed to … Read more >>