Never knowingly undersolved
Chandler is in town this week with a Quiptic that I think will please those still new to the Dark Art. Certainly enough straightforward clues to get you a foothold, which I know … Read more >>
Filbert is quite the regular in the Indy at the moment. He is a setter who can move the difficulty level up and down according to the brief – and the brief for … Read more >>
The first Sunday of the month brings us the regular geographically themed puzzle. Find it to solve online or download and print at ft.com/crossword or via the smartphone app.
A pleasant and not too difficult crossword from Azed. I got into a bit of a mess with the software that produces the blog (which was thrown by the strange enumeration at 1ac), but with some help from the writer of the software and a little fiddling I think it’s now in an acceptable form. Some of the anagram indicators are a bit extreme, but Azed basically allows anything where there is a little bit of jiggling.
Definitions in crimson, underlined; anagram indicators in italics; anagrams indicated *(like this) or (like this)*.
It’s Sunday and Hoskins is in the room, expect sex, drugs and rock and roll
When I’m not blogging I sometimes miss The Everyman, but when I did it a week or two ago it seemed to be becoming easier, and I wondered if Alan Connor was deliberately making it so in response to the several remarks that this was no longer an entry-level crossword. However, this one has shown that this is not apparently the case, because I thought this was very tricky and I’m still not sure of the parsing of one or two of the clues. I couldn’t find the usual rhyming pair or much of that type; two answers ended with the same three letters although they didn’t rhyme, and I’ve highlighted them in a rather doubtful grey, not the usual flamboyant colours which announce a discovery.
Definitions in crimson, underlined. Indicators (Hidden, anagrams, homophones, insertion, reversal, etc.) in italics. Anagrams indicated *(like this) or (like this)*. Link-words in green.
“Across answers must be entered in a consistent manner, always producing a real word or phrase as the grid entry.” After getting a few downs in the grid it didn’t take me long … Read more >>
What an absolute treat we’ve all had from Bluth today. Normally I expect some cruciverbal flair from this setter but this was an absolute pleasure. The grid fell relatively easily, with so many … Read more >>
I seem to be coinciding with Picaroon every other four weeks in the Prize puzzle slot…not that I’m complaining…
Puzzle from the Weekend FT of February 24, 2024
It’s Friday, it’s Phi, so we will have a crossword with a good mix of entries. There’s certainly a good range of entries with definitions relating to various activities including … Read more >>
Thank you to Paul. Definitions are underlined in the clues. Across 9. Jab from Ali, one needing cut treated (9) INOCULATE : Anagram of(… treated) [ALI, ONE plus(needing) CUT]. Defn: … with a … Read more >>
A fun challenge from BOBCAT!
“The answers to each pair of clues sharing a number must be MIXED so as to give the DOUBLES (pairs of names) that form the entry. Remaining across clues each contain a misprint in their definition; correct letters in clue order identify a playwright, one of whose works forms the central column. This work, differently punctuated, is part of a line (in ODQ) by another playwright which describes the shaded region of the grid. Chambers Dictionary (2016) is recommended.”
This was an entertaining puzzle with some great clues.