The scheduled blogger has been unable to blog today, so I volunteered at the last minute to step in.
Inquisitor 1896: Alphabets by Phi
Phi now tops the count of Inquisitor puzzles, and seems destined to extend his lead in the coming months and years. (And yes, I know there were puzzles of his & others before the name change around the beginning of 2007.)
Preamble: The puzzle celebrates a creator of multiple alphabet books, covering three such titles.
Independent 11,981 by Bluebird
Bert & Joyce are away so you’ve got me for this Bluebird puzzle
Guardian Cryptic 29,633 by Ludwig
The puzzle may be found at https://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/cryptic/29633.
Financial Times 17,989 by SLORMGORM
SLORMGORM kicks off the week…
Guardian 29,632 / Philistine
My last blog of a Philistine puzzle was on a Monday – as, in fact, three of his last four have been. Perhaps a bit chewier than typical Monday fare – but most … Read more >>
Independent 11,980 by Kairos
This was largely a gentle puzzle with lots of clues and no long answers.
Financial Times 17,988 by Leonidas
Puzzle from the Weekend FT of March 1, 2025
Financial Times Sunday 82 – News by Neo
The monthly puzzle inspired by topical events. Find it to solve online or download and print at ft.com/crossword, or via the FT smartphone app.
Guardian Quiptic 1,319/Anto
The editor continues to give Anto the gig for producing Quiptics, and while he has his fan club, commenters here have often indicated that he might not be the best choice for the … Read more >>
Independent on Sunday 1,827 by Filbert
Filbert again in his Sunday slot
Everyman 4,088 by Everyman
Everyman seems to have listened to us, or at any rate to someone, because this is a more straightforward crossword than some of his earlier ones. No major criticisms: perhaps the surfaces could sometimes have been honed a bit, but generally I think it’s pretty good and sound.
Definitions underlined in crimson. Indicators (anagram, hidden, homophone, missing letter, etc) in italics. Anagrams indicated (like this)* or *(like this). Link-words in green.
Guardian Genius 260 – Karla
“Each across clue contains a word that must be removed before solving. The first and last letters from these words, in clue order, explain changes required, to varying degrees of effect, in all … Read more >>
Azed 2749
Azed reaches a major milestone in his setting career today. We have a plain puzzle from last Sunday to consider first in this blog.
Independent 11,979 by Stamp
First time I have had to blog a puzzle by Stamp and I wondered what I might be in for.
Since their first puzzle about 2 years ago they have always had something more to offer, in terms of a theme of the day etc.
(I’ll stay tight-lipped about whether I managed to solve the previous puzzles I attempted. I recall some have been on the hard side for me.)