eXternal sets the second IQ challenge of March.
Guardian 29,645 – Yank
A fun solve with a variety of general knowledge references. Favourites were 1ac, 11ac, 17ac, 25ac, and 5dn. Thanks to Yank
Independent 11993 / Crosophile
Crosophile challenges us in the Independent series today
Financial Times 18,002 by GOZO
I struggled to get a toehold at first, but this turned out to be a solid outing with Gozo, with some rather inventive clues.
Guardian 29,644 – Anto
Straightforward Monday fare, but there are (for my taste) rather too many examples of the definition not grammatically matching the answer. Thanks to Anto for the puzzle. Across 1 HAIL MARY Fellow, … Read more >>
Independent 11,992/Bard
A reasonably gentle start to the week from Bard, which I enjoyed. There’s one slightly clunky clue (for this solver at least) and it’s a pangram. Otherwise not much more to add before … Read more >>
Financial Times 18,001 by BOBCAT
BOBCAT kicks off the week…
Financial Times 18,000 by Julius
Puzzle from the Weekend FT of March 15, 2025
Guardian Quiptic 1,321/Pasquale
Pasquale in the driving seat for the Quiptic this week, which means a sound, carefully-constructed puzzle which should encourage newer solvers and briefly entertain older hands. Abbreviations cd cryptic definition dd double definition … Read more >>
Independent on Sunday 1,829/Filbert
Filbert in his now customary Independent on Sunday slot brings us his usual combination of carefully constructed surfaces and sometimes intricate wordplay. Abbreviations cd cryptic definition dd double definition cad clue as definition … Read more >>
Azed No. 2,751 Plain
A pleasant enough crossword from Azed this week, with no major comments to make, except that it has always struck me that his signposting of archaisms/obsolete words might be more consistent. We usually get things like ‘once’, ‘of old’, ‘no longer’ etc, but not always. Chambers tells us that the word is archaic or whatever but we are left to solve the clue without being aware of this.
Definitions underlined, in crimson. Anagram indicators in italics.
Everyman 4,090 by Everyman
Sunday – walk the dog on the beach at Dunwich. It used to be one of the most prosperous towns in England but land erosion means little but a ruined Priory and a few houses remain. Anyway time to find dog biscuits and beer and solve this weeks puzzle
Listener dinner crossword / quiz
To access the quiz, click on the following link Listener Dinner 2025 Quiz
To “Av” or to “Av” not
What a fickle lot we are. WordPress allows for the use of avatars on peoples’ replies to posts. The default is for them to be enabled and, clearly, when Fifteensquared was set up … Read more >>
Listener Dinner – a treat for non-attendees
The Listener dinner will take place tonight. I understand that dinner will be served from 8pm and for those of us not attending, there will be a treat from 8pm (on this site) … Read more >>