A good workout from NEO today peppered with delightful clues.
Enigmatic Variations No.1538 – Tour by Vismut
“Alternate down clues have an extra word, to be removed before solving, taken from a prayer which is always said before the start of an annual TOUR, which can have different high spots; their position in the clue indexes which letter to use from that word. In clue order, these letters have undergone some ups and downs and must be restored to the correct order to give the title of this prayer which indicates what runs around the perimeter of the grid in a clockwise direction and completes four unclued entries. Finally, one thematic destination must be changed to a general location. Unchecked letters of thematic entries give A DARK HILL HUMOUR SHOWS A BIT and all words before or after any changes are proper nouns or can be found in Chambers Dictionary (2016).”
Guardian Cryptic 28,761 by Tramp
A fun challenge – I especially liked 16ac, 8dn, and 17dn. Thanks to Tramp.
Tramp has posted a correction to one of the clues in the Guardian comments section – see link below for the intended clue without spoilers (other than highlighting the corrected element as relevant to the clue):
https://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/cryptic/28761#comment-156530134
Independent 11,107 by Vigo
Well that was fun. Thanks Vigo.
Financial Times 17,098 by ZAMORCA
Zamorca is today's FT setter.
Financial Times 17,088 by Mudd
Non-prize puzzle from the Weekend FT of May 7, 2022
Independent 11,106 / Eccles
Eccles is occupying this week’s Wednesday slot. I found this to be an enjoyable, medium-difficulty puzzle, perfect for a working day. I made steady progress from start to finish, halting in the NE … Read more >>
Financial Times 17,097 by JASON
Another nice puzzle in a traditional style. Thank you Jason.
Guardian 28,760 – Crucible
A quickly-solved but enjoyable puzzle from Crucible today… …helped by an obvious, and eclectic, musical theme. Thanks to Crucible. Across 9. ORCHESTRA Box in occasional Scottish players (9)CHEST (box) in ORRA (Scots … Read more >>
Financial Times 17,096 by HAMILTON
Hard bur fair, I thought.
Inquisitor 1750: Game Changer by Pointer
My first IQ blog: and it’s a significant number!
Guardian Cryptic 28,759 by Brummie
Brummie provides us with our Tuesday challenge.
Independent 11105 / Crosophile
A puzzle from Crosophile today. Tuesday is theme day in the Independent cryptic crossword series, so I was on the lookout when solving. I think the theme was fairly well … Read more >>
Azed No. 2,604 Plain
A typical Azed plain
Guardian Quiptic 1,174/Anto
I’ve often commented that Anto seems not to set puzzles specifically for the Quiptic slot, but I felt that this one was aimed more at beginners and improving solvers. That said, there were … Read more >>