Morning everyone. There will probably be some sore heads in York today: some from the ale, some from having a go at this beast of a grid from Komornik.
Guardian Quiptic 1,353/Carpathian
Carpathian always gives us a carefully constructed and tractable puzzle for the Quiptic slot, so UK solvers shouldn’t have needed the extra hour today to solve this one.
Independent on Sunday 1,861/Filbert
I don’t know about you, but I seldom finish a Filbert crossword these days in one sitting.
S&B 2025 puzzle by ALP
A remote entry for the S&B: doubly so, because neither setter nor blogger could make it to York. But I hope you’ve had a good weekend! Here’s a PDF of the puzzle.
York S& B 2025 by Exit
Exit’s puzzle for the York S&B can be found here .
York Attendees by Henri
Henri has set a number of puzzles for S&B events. He also set Inquisitor 1901 which was quite a challenge but very satisfying at the end when the theme revealed itself. Once again, Henri has given up his time in setting a puzzle for us for which he will receive no fee! Many thanks.
Preamble
Welcome to York! Eight Down answers of a kind must be modified before entry. An Across answer, similar but different to the eight, describes the state of the modified entries. Ten further clues contain an extra word; eight of these indicate a thematic word and the other two are useful for solving. The unclued entry is a ninth example of the theme. One grid entry that is outwardly ambiguous can be resolved by deduction. In the completed grid highlight an appropriate set of four contiguous cells.
If you were not able to attend the S&B at York but would like to solve his barred puzzle, click HERE.
Destination X / Egbert – S&B October 25
This puzzle was submitted for the Sloggers & Betters get together in York on 24th and 25th October 2025. The setter Egbert is Bert of the fifteensquared blogging duo Bertandjoyce. The blank puzzle can be downloaded HERE
Everyman 4,122
A mostly straightforward Sunday stroll last week.
Random Jigsaw / Eborgum – S&B October 25
This blog refers to one the puzzles submitted for the Sloggers & Betters event in York yesterday, 25th October. If you wish to solve the puzzle before reading the blog, the clues and grid can be accessed as a pdf file HERE (updated to the correct version of the grid pm 26/10/25)
S&B 2025 – Do you know your ABCs? by Guinevere
Guinevere has kindly created a jumbo puzzle for solvers at the York get-together. For anyone who wants to solve it before reading the blog, the puzzle is here.
Gemelo No. 12 – For a Change
Special instructions for this puzzle were:
Each clue gives, in any order:
(i) definition of the entry;
(ii) definition of an anagram of the entry;
(iii) wordplay for that anagram
Independent 12183 by Dalibor
With autumn in full swing and the clocks about to change Dalibor brings some Saturday fun. Quite a rare appearance as a setter for a fellow blogger on this site, I believe. I … Read more >>
Private Eye (Cyclops/815) Rabid Hobnob
I must have been having a bad solving day. It took three goes at the puzzle to finish.
Guardian Quick Cryptic 82 by Pangakupu
This week’s 11 x 11 crossword from the Guardian intended to teach cryptic crosswords, found here