So here I am wondering what to say in the first paragraph so I don’t anything give away about this puzzle on the homepage.
I will say …
Quick Cryptic 18 by Picaroon
This is the eighteenth Guardian Quick Cryptic, a series of 11 x 11 crosswords designed to support beginners learning cryptic crosswords. The whole point of these crosswords is support and encouragement of new solvers, so special rules for these crosswords apply – see here. The puzzle can be found here.
Guardian Prize 29,446 by Soup
A payoff awaits at the end of Soup’s tour-de-force series of innovative (unorthodox?!?) clues in this week’s Prize slot . . .
Financial Times 17,799 by Leonidas
Puzzle from the Weekend FT of 27 July, 2024
FT 17,804 by Mudd
Turbolegs is on holiday today, and has been unable to drag himself away from the pool long enough to do this morning’s FT, so I have stepped in to take his place. Thankfully, … Read more >>
Independent 11,798 by Phi
Phi’s back to Phiday this week – normal order restored….. …except that we have not been able to include the completed grid as we usually do, possibly due to an update to … Read more >>
Guardian 29,451 / Philistine
Philistine rounds off the week with a typically ingenious and witty puzzle. I had ticks for, among others – too many to list, 1,5 CURRENT ACCOUNT, a neat charade to start us off, … Read more >>
Guardian Cryptic 29,450 by Imogen
A slow solve with a lot of tricky clues and parsing – my favourites today were 25ac, 8dn, and 19dn. Thanks to Imogen.
Independent 11,797 / Grecian
Grecian has provided this Thursday’s cruciverbal workout, and a workout indeed it was, at least for me. I really enjoyed grappling with this puzzle, which was positively teeming with flair and ingenuity. I … Read more >>
FT No 17,803 by Zamorca
A typical Zamora puzzle with a pangram. The puzzle took a lot less time to complete than it did to blog due to technical difficulties this morning, so apologies for the layout. Also, … Read more >>
Enigmatic Variations No. 1652: Disappearing by Piccadilly
Hello. A nice short preamble this week, with nothing confusing:
Financial Times 17,802 by Goliath
It’s not often that we see Goliath on a Wednesday, and not often that I find him as tricky as I did this morning.
Guardian 29,449 – Pangakupu
A fairly straightforward puzzle this morning, with the four multi-light downs providing lots of helpful crossing letters. Thanks to Pangakupu. Pangakupu puzzles usually have a Maori word or phrase hidden in the grid, … Read more >>
Independent 11796 / Eccles
Every second Wednesday, Eccles comes along with an Independent cryptic puzzle to challenge us. There was good mix of vocabulary in today’s puzzle. I had LAMPOONING in at 9 across … Read more >>
Inquisitor 1865: Hero to Zero by eXternal
eXternal is a prolific setter of Inquisitor puzzles with interesting themes and cluing devices. Today, the preamble told us that a letter must be reinstated in each of 36 clues. The … Read more >>