Prize puzzle from the Weekend FT of September 15, 2018
Financial Times 15,973 by JULIUS
Another good puzzle from Julius, as always. Not as much wit and political satire as we sometimes get but still very enjoyable regardless. Thank you Julius.
Independent 9,970 by Eccles
It seems that Eccles is becoming an increasingly regular setter on Fifteensquared, filling in many of the Wednesday slots that used to be occupied by Dac. Which is appropriate, for he is a good setter, not the hardest, but always challenging enough and pleasant to solve.
Definitions underlined, in maroon. Anagram indicators in italics.
Guardian 27,624 – Arachne
A nice surprise to get an Arachne for my first blog after a couple of weeks away in the Highlands (thanks to Loonapick and Teacow for keeping my seat warm). Lots of fun … Read more >>
Inquisitor 1560: Phase Shift by Phi
The umpteenth Inquisitor from Phi … Preamble: The key phases of the moon here are 1st Quarter, 3rd Quarter and Full. 4-, 8- and 12-letter entries suffer a Phase Shift: the wordplay … Read more >>
Financial Times 15972 Hamilton
Thanks to Hamilton. Definitions are underlined in the clues. Across 1 Cell is helping to get the go-ahead (8) PLATELET : PLATE(a helping of food) + LET(to get the go-ahead;to be allowed to). … Read more >>
Guardian Cryptic 27,623 by Nutmeg
A slightly easier than normal Nutmeg this morning…
Independent 9,969 by Hob
It’s Tuesday, it’s Theme Day.
And Hob is no stranger when it comes to this.
Guardian Quiptic 984/Anto
One of the regular Quiptic setters, Anto, is on the oche this morning. Some of the arrows he/she has thrown at us are, only in my opinion of course, missing … Read more >>
Financial Times 15,971 by CRUX
A fairly gentle start to the week from CRUX…
Independent 9,968 by Italicus
Italicus is a setter I haven’t seen before, but there were some excellent clues here. I had a few queries on one or two of them.
Guardian Cryptic 27,622 by Vulcan
The puzzle may be found at https://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/cryptic/27622.
Everyman 3,753
The scheduled blogger has not turned up so here is an analysis of the clues with no further commentary because there are other things that I should be doing on a Sunday afternoon. … Read more >>
Azed 2414
A plain Azed this week, one which I found quite difficult to get started There were a couple of clues where the word play eluded me for a while. These were … Read more >>
Independent on Sunday 1,491 by Kairos
I enjoyed this. A bit more meat than the standard Sunday lunch offering. Thank you Kairos.