Guardian Prize 26,681 by Paul

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A most entertaining crossword that I found very difficult.  Usually I solve Paul’s puzzles much more quickly than I did this one.  Was it just me having a bad day or did other people think this was hard too?

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Guardian Cryptic 26686 Paul

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(Please click here for this same blog but with a picture quiz added. Please do NOT post hereinbelow any comment relating to the picture quiz. Thank you.)  A slow start, but it worked … Read more >>

Independent 9,031 by Monk

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As usual an expectedly difficult but good crossword from Monk. Most of the answers seemed fairly obvious after the event; it was just that they were so hard to see in the first place. Perhaps this is because of the high proportion of the definitions that are single words, making it hard to isolate them.

One can criticise the grid for a number of reasons, although it is a standard one that is often used by setters: it doesn’t allow for much of a range of answer-lengths (they are all 5, 6, 7 or 8 letters); four of the answers have less than 50% checking, something that I know doesn’t bother everyone but I don’t like it; and very quickly you end up doing a number of separate little puzzles.

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Financial Times 15,035 – Dante

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Monday Prize Crossword / Sep 14, 2015

I’m afraid that I cannot remember much of what I felt when solving this Dante crossword. When writing the blog, I wasn’t particularly bewitched by many of the inevitable cryptic definitions.

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Guardian 26,684 / Picaroon

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Another gem of a puzzle from Picaroon, with his characteristic ingenious cluing and witty misdirection, along with excellent surfaces throughout. Most enjoyable – many thanks to Picaroon for providing such a good start … Read more >>

Independent 9030 / Dac

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As usual, a well-constructed puzzle from Dac this week. We found it somewhat easier than average, which was something of a relief as we’re only just back from a week in the States. … Read more >>