Rodriguez provides the fun this Thursday.
Financial Times 17,266 by FALCON
Falcon swoops in with an FT puzzle.
Guardian Cryptic 28,929 by Anto
The puzzle may be found at https://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/cryptic/28929.
Enigmatic Variations No.1566 – Head Back Home by Inkling
“Eight clues comprise wordplay only. Solvers should identify a set of single-word synonyms of the answers to these clues. Leaving the body of the synonyms behind, solvers should take a poetic action and HEAD BACK HOME, arranging the heads into a suitable response. This response (which can be found in ODQ) will, in turn, provide a guide to the missing three-letter word in the centre of the grid. Finally, solvers must draw a continuous line through eleven cells to identify the source. Chambers Dictionary (2016) is recommended; 11 is in Collins.
(This is the first and final Enigmatic Variations puzzle by Chris Dunn (inkling), who, sadly, passed away in July.)”
Independent 11,274 / Mev
Our mid-week cruciverbal challenge has been set by Mev. I am not familiar with this compiler’s work, although I can see that a small number of puzzles by him/her have already been blogged … Read more >>
Financial Times 17,265 by GOZO
Well! Gozo has put me through my paces. A fair bit of general knowledge required to complete this one.
Guardian 28,928 / Paul
Paul sets the midweek challenge with a fairly straightforward puzzle, where the solve was helped by several long phrases in the answers. As always, my heart sank to see the number of composite … Read more >>
Inquisitor 1778: Crisis Management by Kruger
Kruger is a regular setter of Inquisitor puzzles, with several offerings to his name this year. Today’s preamble read: Before entry, answers to eleven clues should be modified to depict ways that would … Read more >>
Guardian Cryptic 28,927 by Nutmeg
An enjoyable solve, with many tricky clues that look much simpler in hindsight. Favourites 19ac, 15dn, 20dn, and 23dn. Thanks to Nutmeg
Independent 11273 / Knut
Knut entertains us today in the Independent. Tuesday is theme day in the Independent and there is no doubt about today’s theme as Knut takes us through some of the … Read more >>
Financial Times 17,264 by NEO
This offering from Neo ranges from straightforward to quite challenging . . .
Azed No. 2,632 Plain
A nice plain from Azed with the usual sound clues. In one or two places I’m a bit doubtful but that’s very possibly me. In his latest slip he mentions that some people find the 11×13 grid (as here) often a bit easier to solve that the usual 12×12.
I used to blog Azed’s crosswords some years ago and seem to remember making the same remark then: the actual wordplay is usually fairly simple; the difficulty lies in the extraordinary words, which I have usually not explained.
Definitions underlined in crimson. Anagram indicators in italics.
Guardian Quiptic 1,202/Bartland
My first opportunity to blog a Bartland Quiptic. I’m a fan already. I thought this was thoughtfully constructed, with the beginner and improving solver clearly in mind. It conforms to what for me … Read more >>
Guardian 28,926 – Carpathian
Carpathian is originally, and still more often seen as, a setter of the Quiptic, and this could easily have fitted in that slot. Still, a nicely-constructed puzzle, suitable for those that like a … Read more >>
Independent 11,272/Hoskins
Hoskins has the Monday Indy puzzle for us. What will he provide for us this morning? A straightforward enough puzzle, as it turns out, but we have a theme, which is unusual: there … Read more >>