A pleasant crossword from Eimi. Of course there are references to football and pop music, but I was expecting those. If there is a Nina I can’t see it; it all seems quite straightforward.
Definitions underlined where appropriate.
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AZED 2,224
A harder than usual puzzle from Azed this week, with a 13 by 11 grid, including a higher than average number of & lit clues.
Independent 1,300 by Hypnos
A good Sunday puzzle from Hypnos, a bit of everything. Thanks Hypnos.
Guardian Prize 26,471 by Picaroon
This was a really tough puzzle with an appropriate mini-theme.
Independent 8821 / Tyrus
Tyrus is an occasional setter of weekday Independent puzzles. I think he is seen more regularly on Saturdays. . I …
Independent 8,820 by Dac
What new is there to say about Dac? This was one of his easiest, many of the clues not really very different from those in The Times Quick Cryptic, but the surfaces were as always perfect. I wondered if Dac was amusing himself by having all clues with their definition at the beginning — certainly this seemed to be the case at first — but it soon became clear that he wasn’t.
Definitions underlined.
Financial Times 14,834 by ARTEXLEN
Spot on in every way, not much else to say! Thanks Artexlen.
Inquisitor 1368: Off and On by Nutmeg
Nutmeg‘s “Any other Name” came equal fourth in 2014, and her puzzles rank among my personal favourites. A small grid: 11×11. …
Beelzebub 1297
I seemed to finish this one a little more quickly than usual, perhaps because 1ac and 1dn were my first entries, and …
Azed 2223
Azed has given us another masterclass in precise clueing Solving an Azed crossword is always a good source of …
Guardian Prize 26,465 by Paul
Good fun yet again from Paul.
Independent 8,815 by Nimrod
What you always get with Nimrod, although I must admit that I tend not to do his crosswords nowadays since they are so difficult and I also usually end up being a bit irritated by something, but this time I had to see it through: quite extraordinarily difficult, for some reason, but some imaginative and brilliant clues.
This puzzle had a rather strange grid, which suggests that it was like this for a reason, but that reason is beyond me. Perhaps it was just because Nimrod didn’t want to go down the evil path of having less than 50% checking.
Definitions underlined.
Financial Times 14,828 by ALBERICH
I have blogged a few Alberich puzzles now and they have been consistently good, this one no exception. Thanks Alberich.
Independent 8814 / Dac
This was another enjoyable puzzle from Dac. I wondered if this was going to be a pangram but I …
Independent 8805 (Sat 3rd January 2015) Tyrus
As is usual from Tyrus this was a pretty hard puzzle. Maybe not as hard as 8776 back in November which …