Monday Prize Crossword / Oct 31, 2016
A bit of falconry to start the FT week.
Financial Times 15,384 by Mudd
Prize puzzle from the Weekend FT of October 29, 2016
Financial Times 15,393 by JULIUS
Fine work from Julius as we have come to expect. Thank you Julius.
Independent 9,383 / Dac
Dac is where he belongs this week, occupying the Wednesday compiling slot. I found this particular puzzle to be towards the easy end of the Dac spectrum and made swift progress through it. … Read more >>
Guardian Cryptic 27,037 by Paul
The puzzle may be found at https://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/cryptic/27037.
Inquisitor 1462: Double, Double by Harribobs
. . . toil and trouble indeed! The rubric read: Each row and each column is referenced by either of two letters – A or B, C or D, etc. Cells are indicated … Read more >>
Financial Times 15,392 by ARMONIE
Not too hard this morning but awkward in spots, I thought.
Guardian 27,036 / Brendan
It’s less than a week since Brendan’s last appearance – but I’m certainly not complaining! A puzzle right up my street, based on one of my favourite Shakespeare plays, the 5,24 that superstition … Read more >>
Independent 9382 / Alchemi
Alchemi gives us a topical offering today. Unless you have been hiding away in some CATACOMBS [25 across] for months, nay years, you will be aware that the American Presidential … Read more >>
Guardian Quiptic 886 /Anto
Another Monday, another Quiptic from Anto. Abbreviations cd cryptic definition dd double definition (xxxx)* anagram anagrind = anagram indicator [x] letters removed definitions are underlined Across 8 Banal description … Read more >>
Independent 9,381 by Vigo
A lovely crisp sunny morning to do a crossword
Guardian Cryptic 27,035 by Rufus
Even more…
Private Eye/Cyclops 585 Difficult Woman
A puzzle centred on the phrase “Bloody difficult woman”. Ken Clarke’s observation <link> which was caught on mic during this summer’s Tory leadership non-election. I imagine as soon as the story broke Cyclops delighting in using … Read more >>
Everyman 3,656
The usual smooth offering from Everyman today which results in my having little to say. No cryptic definitions, which will no doubt please some people, and only a couple of double definitions, so … Read more >>
AZED 2,317
There are two typos in this crossword: Edinburgh is spelled Edinburg at 11ac, and 34ac is numbered as 24ac. Obvious mistakes of course, not likely to detain anyone, but when the standard of proof-reading falls like this, if you can’t at first solve a clue then you begin to wonder if there is a typo in it. Not something one normally sees in Azed’s crosswords — how he generally maintains such high standards of accuracy without so far as I know having any sort of crossword editor to pick up on things is impressive.
(I wrote this before discovering that there is a third typo: The first word of the clue for 4dn is meant to be Chain not Cain. And here at last we have a mistake which does actually cause a waste of time (in my case, because I was doing the blog, considerable).)
The usual: sound clueing, impossibly difficult words whose very existence keeps surprising me, one or two excellent clues, and as so often one (4dn) whose explanation is beyond me (at least it was, until the typo was pointed out).
Definitions underlined and in maroon.