A stellar theme, but not such a stellar puzzle.
Independent 9,460 / Gila
Gila is occupying the Tuesday slot this week and is a compiler whose work I am fairly familiar with but which I have little experience of blogging. This puzzle turned out to be … Read more >>
Guardian Quiptic 899 Beale
Thanks to Beale, for a puzzle pitched at about the right level of difficulty for a Quiptic. Enjoyable, even if one had to wait almost a day for it. Definitions are underlined in … Read more >>
Guardian Cryptic 27,113 by Rufus
The puzzle may be found at https://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/cryptic/27113.
Independent 9459/eXternal
Not quite sure how many points I’d award this on the degree of difficulty scale. There were enough to get you going, certainly; but a few proved tricky for this solver. … Read more >>
Private Eye/Cyclops 591 Repress Science
Cyclops is giving us a very bleak analysis of the state of the world with a Trump heavy set of clues However the puzzle itself proved to be one of the quickest solves … Read more >>
Independent on Sunday 1,406 by Poins
It’s been a while since I locked horns with Poins, which used to be a regular Sunday occurrence. This was good, though I seemed to find the going a bit more of a … Read more >>
Guardian Genius No 163
I thought this was not just tough, but in places, somewhat unfair.
AZED 2,329
A fairly hard Azed this time — with more than its fair share of heraldic terms, intricate wordplays and one very nice “follow-on” clue.
Everyman 3,668
The puzzle may be found at https://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/everyman/3668.
Independent crossword 9458 by Serpent
Not a lot of wasted space in today’s grid – a snakey puzzle from Serpent beckons. Some excellent clues to fill the space too. I liked 1ac for its brevity and 22ac for … Read more >>
Guardian Prize 27,106 / Picaroon
It’s almost a year since I was half-apologising to fellow-bloggers for having managed to land five Picaroon puzzles in a row to blog. I was beginning to think I must have put a … Read more >>
Enigmatic Variations No. 1262 – The Upton Times by Kruger
This puzzle has additional and missing letters, and misprints in definitions. However, we don’t know which clues are affected in what way or even how many of each there are (only that there are ‘approximately equal numbers of each’). Nor do we know what is to be done to complete the puzzle, only that these letters will explain whatever it is.
Well, this should be a piece of cake.
Independent 9,457 by Phi
Phi is rather on the hard side today, I think, but still up to the usual high standard. Every clue could easily be explained afterwards, which is as it should be.
Definitions underlined and in maroon.
Financial Times 15,464 by WANDERER
Thanks to Wanderer, for a Friday challenge that was relatively easy compared to earlier offerings from him.