Life
2513: Golden anniversary
1A, on 23 17, 41 1D 8 in this 31 was 21D. This anniversary announcement consists of eleven words and…
Pop culture
In Competition No. 3205, you were invited to supply a rigorous literary-critical analysis of a well-known pop song. Thanks to…
Solution to 2510: Prom Session
Twelve symmetrically disposed unclued entries comprise three pairs of Spoonerisms (an anagram of the title): POURING RAIN/ROARING PAIN, FRYING PAN/PRYING…
Fifty years of The Spectator crossword
by Tom Johnson aka Doc During the early spring of 1971, a package of eighteen unsolicited crosswords arrived in…
Firestarter
It’s a joy to watch a player like Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, who can light a fire with his bare hands. Where…
Real life
The woman sat alone and stony-faced in the passenger seat of the car as it blocked the road. She was…
Wild life
Kenya In March, Global Britain signed a new, post-Brexit trade deal with Kenya. This was a welcome agreement for my…
Low life
The village square is a long and pedestrianised oblong shaded along its length by massive pollarded plane trees. It’s known…
Puzzle no. 660
White to play. So–Vachier-Lagrave, Paris, June 2021. The queen on e7 can be taken, but Black’s last move was …Rd8,…
Aussie Life
Every time a dog cocks its leg to urinate on the Federation Pavilion in Centennial Park, Sydney, a terminally ill…
Aussie Language
A report in the Australian said ‘anti-Semitic’ hate crimes are on the rise in America – and the FBI and…
How to lose
Millions of people would see losing to Anand as a privilege rather than a disgrace. So it is simply astonishing…
Let’s go round again
In Competition No. 3204, you were invited to supply a rondeau with a summery theme. The best-known English rondeau is…
The Battle for Britain
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Puzzle no. 659
White to play. Gukesh–Yip, Gelfand Challenge, June 2021. White has strong pressure on the f-file, but which move forces a…
High life
New York I hope this is my last week in the Bagel. I plan to fly first to Switzerland and…
The turf
There are many facets to Royal Ascot’s appeal. For some it is glamour, style and opulence. For some it is…
2512: Impertinence
Clockwise round the grid from 34 run the answers (6,6,5, 11,4,3,7,4) (one hyphened) to eight riddles followed by the riddler’s…
Critique
Six years ago I wrote here about critique, as a noun or verb, and things have gone from bad to…
Hogwarts and all
Harry Potter is a fictional orphan locked in a cupboard by his aunt and uncle, after which he discovers a…
Dear Mary
Q. We have old friends who live in the northern hinterlands and have a property in Provence where they normally…
A lot of bottle
The question is surely destined to become a pub quiz staple: ‘Who moved a bottle 18 inches across a table…
Sense and sensitivity
‘Whatever you do, don’t call them snowflakes,’ Caroline said the last time I spoke to Oxford students. ‘That’s not a…
Real life
Exciting news from my father’s cousin in Canada. ‘You asked about our grandfather, there is much to tell,’ he writes.…
Solution to 2509: Current description
The perimeter quote is from ‘Ode to the West Wind’. The remaining unclued lights were the east wind (24A), south…
