A characteristically witty puzzle from Paul, including some of his trademark toilet humour.
Enigmatic Variations No. 1184: The Big Picture by Artix
A strange-looking (horned?) mostly-jigsaw of a grid, and clues laid out in a jumbled order in three different ‘groups’…certainly looks like a curved ball being thrown at us by Artix in THE BIG … Read more >>
Independent 8985 Sat 01-Aug-2015 Monk
I was very glad when I found it was Monk today as he is one of my favourite setters. Last time I blogged a Monk puzzle in the Prize slot back in May … Read more >>
Financial Times 15,003 by MAGWITCH
Greetings from Copenhagen!! A pleasurable challenge from Magwitch today. Needed perseverance on a few clues to parse right but nothing to really bother. Thanks Magwitch for yet another treat !!
Guardian 26,644 by Paul
Great fun from Paul, without being too difficult. Hard to pick favourites, but 21ac got the biggest smile. Thanks Paul.
Independent 8,990 / Phi
Friday wouldn’t be the same without Phi now, would it? And here he is with his latest end-of-week offering. I found this a medium-difficulty Phi puzzle and made steady progress through the first … Read more >>
Guardian 26,643 – Picaroon
I must have been on Picaroon’s wavelength today, because this all went in very smoothly, even though in retrospect there are a few quite involved clues. (In contrast, I found myself struggling much … Read more >>
Independent 8989 / Vigo
Vigo makes a rare appearance today I enjoyed this challenge from Vigo. The clues seem deceptively simple but in the end it took me a while to crack the North … Read more >>
Financial Times 15,002 by ORENSE
A walk in the park after walking the dogs. Thanks Orense, for a gentle but fun crossword.
Financial Times 14,993 – Crux
Monday Prize Crossword / Jul 27, 2015
An enjoyable Crux puzzle that took more time to finish than I thought it would (due to the tricky NE, 10ac/5d). Once more some cross-references and a nice &lit at the start of the puzzle.
Financial Times 14,992 by Mudd
Prize puzzle from the Weekend FT of July 25, 2015 Thank you to Mudd for another fine puzzle. My clue of the week is 14a (TIRED) and I also applaud 27a (CONTINENT). There … Read more >>
Independent 8,988 by Dac
Dac tends to be gentle, but this was an easy one. There seemed to be no difficult clues today.
Still up to the usual standard, though. As always plenty of lovely surfaces.
Definitions in italics.
Guardian 26,642 by Chifonie
After last week’s impaling by Vlad this came as a blessed light relief.
Financial Times 15,001 / Aardvark
PeeDee is away enjoying a holiday so I get a chance to return to what used to be my regular Wednesday FT slot. A fairly straightforward solve by Aardvark’s standards though there were … Read more >>
Inquisitor 1396: Artwork by Hieroglyph
A debut in the Inquisitor for Hieroglyph, but apparently he’s set puzzles in The Independent and elsewhere. Preamble (paraphrase): There are two sorts of clue apart from the ordinary ones: in one … Read more >>