As…
Independent 9,388 / Scorpion
Scorpion has produced today’s puzzle for our stimulation and delectation. Tuesday’s puzzle often has a theme to it or a Nina around its perimeter, although I have found no trace of either, despite … Read more >>
Financial Times 15,398 by PHSSTHPOK
I’ve been hoping for a more challenging Tuesday FT since I bgan blogging it. Be careful what you wish for…
Guardian Quiptic 887 / Provis
This one meets the remit nicely. A good cross-section of clue types, some pleasing surfaces and nothing obscure (apart from perhaps the archaic word in 2dn). I think this was probably my first … Read more >>
Guardian 27041 – Nutmeg
A nice surprise to see Nutmeg’s name this morning. A suitable straightforward puzzle for a Monday, though by no means a write-in, and with (as we would expect) some very nice clues. Thanks … Read more >>
Independent 9387/eXternal
I struggled with this a bit, but after getting a foothold in the various parts of the grid, the rest came with a bit of brainwork. Some good clues, though. … Read more >>
AZED 2,318 – transgender
A fun but hard variant of the typical Azed — we ended up solving as a team (thanks Jutta, Martin, Frank!) — given the title, at first thought that likely theme is Armistice Day (Nov 11) or Guy Fawkes day (Nov 5) — turned out to be the latter — “remember, remember, the fifth of November” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guy_Fawkes_Night. To be clear, the theme was basically replace male names in answers with female names (“penny for the guy”) as exemplified by 1A.
Independent on Sunday 1,395 by Hoskins
I rarely seem to draw a Hoskins on blogging day, but it’s certainly a relief after two Nimrods on the trot. It officially being Remembrance Sunday, I did wonder whether we might see … Read more >>
Everyman 3,657
The puzzle may be found at https://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/everyman/3657.
Independent 9386 / Crosophile
We enjoyed this offering from Crosophile today. As we said on Thursday, for a crossword to be enjoyable it has to raise some smiles, have some smooth surfaces and is even better when … Read more >>
Guardian Prize 27,034 / Puck
It’s always a delight for me to see Puck’s name on a puzzle, especially when I’m blogging it, and so my cup ran over when I saw that this was an alphabetical – … Read more >>
Enigmatic Variations 1250 Second Best by Oxymoron
As Chambers gives as an example of an Oxymoron – would this puzzle prove to be a form of cruel kindness or would that be falsely true. My tussles with Oxymoron or his … Read more >>
Financial Times 15,395 by ORENSE
A very easy challenge from Orense and ripe for beginners on the FT.
Independent 9,385 by Phi
Phi’s typically good sound Friday offering. I found this on the hard side for him, although progress was steady enough and there were no long pauses while I failed to see the way forward.
Definitions underlined and in maroon.
Guardian 27,039 – Imogen
Apart from a couple of very easy clues, this started off looking rather impenetrable, but it yielded gradually and satisfyingly. There are a few rather tricky parsings (including one that is so obscure … Read more >>