Welcome to Grecian. This was a delightful debut.
Guardian Cryptic 28,699 by Brendan
Brendan provides this morning's brain teaser.
Financial Times 17037 Gurney
Thank you to Gurney. Definitions are underlined in the clues. Across 1. Love, Nablus exotic, mysterious, unlike this puzzle, one hopes! (10) UNSOLVABLE : Anagram of(… exotic) LOVE, NABLUS. 7. Fish limit … Read more >>
Azed 2594
Azed’s 50 years as a setter was marked with an article in last week’s Observer. The article can also be found online by clicking HERE It’s a very impressive achievement to compile 2,594 … Read more >>
Guardian Quiptic 1,164/Chandler
A debut Quiptic puzzle from Chandler, and a fine one it was too. I can only find one Chandler puzzle in the archive, and that was a Genius back from 2019. This was … Read more >>
Independent 11,044 by Skinny
This was quite enjoyable and generally at the easier end of the spectrum.
Financial Times 17,036 by SLORMGORM
A steady solve.
Guardian Cryptic 28,698 by Vulcan
The puzzle may be found at https://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/cryptic/28698.
Independent on Sunday 1,671 by Italicus
I enjoyed this, thanks Italicus.
Everyman 3,933
I find it hard to believe that Everyman is just one person, unless there are days when they’re badly off form. This crossword was so much better than the one I blogged last month: no clues are seriously unsound and the surfaces, although not in every case really up to a lot, are generally pretty good. And Everyman makes things quite demanding for him/herself: there are the long onomatopoeic (yes, alliterative, as several pointed out; wrong word) answers (potato peelers, penalty points, private property), the first letters homophone clue (1dn), the self-reference (20ac), and maybe others that I’ve missed, and they all fit in without strain.
Definitions in crimson, underlined. Indicators (anagram, homophone, hidden, juxtaposition etc.) in italics. Link-words in green. Anagrams indicated *(like this) or (like this)*.
Guardian Genius 224 – Chandler
Although the instructions seemed clear, it took me a while to realise that the “thematic word” to be paired with the undefined answers was not the same every time. I think it was … Read more >>
Independent 11,043 by Serpent
10 days preceding the ides of March and we have a puzzle from a friendly Serpent. A puzzle from Serpent is always a pleasure, both the quality of the clues the likelihood of … Read more >>
Guardian Saturday Prize Crossword 28,691 by Paul (26 February 2022)
I think we have a rare beast here – the lesser-spotted ‘vanilla’ puzzle from Paul…
Independent 11042 / Phi
Today’s challenge is set by Phi Phi often has a theme running through his puzzles. There is a slight hint of Charles Dickens in the grid, but I may be … Read more >>
Financial Times 17,034 by LEONIDAS
A fun puzzle from LEONIDAS this Friday