Financial Times 16,620 by JULIUS
Julius provides this morning’s challenge in the FT. I started slowly this morning, with my first pass of the across clues giving me very little, but I soon got into my stride and … Read more >>
Financial Times 16,610 by Chalmie
Non-prize puzzle from the Weekend FT of October 17, 2020 An entertaining puzzle from Chalmie with the theme of the works of Edgar Allan Poe. This author appears frequently in crosswords but I … Read more >>
Financial Times 16,619 by GOZO
A tricky one from Gozo. You will need a both a cryptic mindset and good general knowledge to solve this unaided. Thank you Gozo. The grid has 10 fifteen-letter lights, not an easy … Read more >>
Independent 10622 / Eccles
Eccles on Wednesday is a regular two-weekly occurrence at the moment. As usual, Eccles gives us smooth surfaces to his clues as well as providing some interesting wordplay devices We … Read more >>
Guardian Cryptic 28,276 by Brendan
A fun puzzle – I particularly liked 9ac, 21ac, 22ac, 2dn, 18dn, and 22dn. Thanks to Brendan. …hard to miss the theme around Shakespeare’s Othello, with extra links to theatre more generally and … Read more >>
Inquisitor 1669: Glittering Career by Nimrod
Nimrod is also the editor of the Inquisitor series and tends to set challenging crosswords, so this was always likely to be a difficult solving experience. The preamble stated: that … Read more >>
Financial Times 16,618 by FALCON
Solid Tuesday breakfast fare. Tasty and not too meaty. Thanks, Falcon. ACROSS 9 END Close finish (3) Double def. Feels a bit, er, close. 10 CONSOLIDATE Strengthen vulnerable citadel soon (11) … Read more >>
Guardian 28,275 – Nutmeg
Nutmeg in gentle mode, but with all her usual wit and elegance. Very nice. No theme or Nina that I can see, but I’d be happy to be corrected on that. Thanks to … Read more >>
Independent 10,621 by Radian
My goodness that was hard. But not for any reason I can see — all the clues make perfectly good sense in retrospect and seem quite straightforward. It was a really good crossword, … Read more >>
Quiptic 1,093 by Pan
An enjoyable solve from Pan this morning: mostly “easy when you know how”. As always, Pan provides concise clues with some lovely surfaces: my favourite was 1d. There are lots of common crossword … Read more >>
Independent 10,620 by Tees
The fifth Indy puzzle from Tees this month – he’s been busy. Some tricky elements but an enjoyable challenge. A few clues required some not-very-general knowledge, particularly 8d which also had a tricky … Read more >>
Guardian Cryptic 28,274 by Matilda
Apologies for the late post – I wrote this blog a couple of hours ago, but sent it to Fifteensquared as a draft by mistake. An enjoyable Monday morning stroll… … which proves … Read more >>
Financial Times 16,617 by ZAMORCA
ZAMORCA kicks off the week… A nice mix of clues from ZAMORCA in this morning’s pangram (which one expects from this setter). Nothing too taxing. 4d and 16d were probably my favourites. Thanks … Read more >>
Azed No. 2,523 Plain
A very straightforward plain Azed this week, after the previous week’s Carte Blanche. A puzzle whose references span from Greek mythology to Radio 4. As always, I learned something from my explorations into … Read more >>
Everyman 3,862/18 October
My sense when solving and blogging this one was that it was rather clunky, with some overlong surfaces. Your experience may have differed, of course. Abbreviations cd cryptic definition dd … Read more >>