I liked this a lot, with its very correct quotas of interesting vocabulary, artsy GK, and humorous constructions. COD to 12ac as the idea of a boatload of Father Christmases very much appealed. Thank you setter!

Done and dusted inside of 10 minutes; video evidence at https://www. ( Read more... )

Way too straight-down-the-line for the first Friday of 2022, setting a dangerous precedent, but I did enjoy this, especially for the three Romance language answers - those GCSEs and A-levels were not entirely in vain. I liked the Doctor Who reference (it's going to be good again in 2023! Maybe) but my COD is... let's say 5ac for being an ( Read more... )

Most enjoyable, and not too time consuming, though I was held up awhile at the end wondering how LAMS could possibly mean "radioing" until the shiny penny dropped ( Read more... )

You would have been forgiven for assuming that I would have had stern words to say about a crossword with so many sporting references, but given that one of them, 13d is my COD, with its brilliant IOCESE, it seems I have finally joined the dark side. There are other brilliant clues everywhere too, 14ac and 3dn deserving of special mention in my ( Read more... )

A dreaded pink square for me in what wasn't, otherwise, too testing a crossword despite potentially tricky vocab crossing like 6ac/8dn. I bunged "MEALINESS" straight in at 14dn on the assumption that it referred to a mealy-grub, though on more sober reflection it felt like that creature may actually be called a mealy-bug... onwards and upwards eh! ( Read more... )

A good level of difficulty for a Friday, with a few bits of fun vocabulary and "advanced" wordplay peppering a grid that was mostly straightforward to parse up. FOI 11ac, LOI 2dn; having to truncate not one but two short words is a tough ask, and I can't say I was 100% sure I had the right synonyms for "power" and "failed" there. Favourite clue was ( Read more... )

A quick look at the completed grid for this one should be enough to tell you if you are going to love or hate the Monthly Club Special: some people just won't want to painstakingly construct words like QESHM, WAG-N-BIETJIE and LOK SABHA out of seemingly unpromising word-grist and that's alright, it's not compulsory. But for those of us irresistibly ( Read more... )

I totally forgot this was a Friday and submitted in 5 minutes something before realising my error. Oh well, no harm done! I did find a lot of the clues very, as they say, biffable from a couple of crossers, but they were mostly rather nicely turned, so no grousing from me tonight. COD to 27ac which made me chuckle, and I also very much appreciated ( Read more... )

Those who don't like these puzzles could do worse than to point at the run of down answers from, say, 10dn to 16dn: UREDINIOSPORE, ANOBIIDAE, DAIDZEIN? Give us a break! Random bits of science jargon and words from Oceanian languages are not my all-time favourites it must be said, but the cluing here makes it all worthwhile. Let me point at 1dn, 2dn ( Read more... )

I made a bit of a hash of this tough puzzle (my stamp of Friday approval is ungrudgingly bestowed) by bunging UNDERWEAR in optimistically for 7dn and then not being able to make much more progress in that corner until I'd revisited my assumptions. But this was far from the only clue that was cleverer than it looked at first, with misleading ( Read more... )