Life
Low life
I took a table on the terrace of the reopened bar and ordered une pression from the waitress. ‘Back to…
Sneezles and wheezles
In Competition No. 3153 you were invited to recruit a well-known children’s writer to explain Covid-19 to their young audience.…
Chequered histories
As statues are scrutinised, the tensions that existed within historical figures are thrown into relief. You can admire Churchill’s leadership…
Bridge
I am so useless in defence it’s embarrassing. My partners all say the same thing: slow down and think. I…
2462: Over and Out?
The seventeen entries with definition-only clues are to be treated according to a symmetrically disposed theme which has to be…
Puzzle no. 609
White to play. Tolush–Aronson, Moscow 1957. Strangely, this quick win was once wrongly attributed to Alekhine. How did White exploit…
Solution to 2459: 22 down
22D was TABLEWARE, and the quotation from Ralph Waldo Emerson reads: ‘The louder he talked of his honour, the faster…
The Battle for Britain
Got something to add? Join the discussion and comment below.
Puzzle no. 608
Black to play, Ding Liren–Daniil Dubov, Lindores Abbey Rapid Challenge, May 2020. Dubov’s rook is under attack, but his next…
Bridge
Have you ever been at a bridge event and heard someone exclaim: ‘He Grosvenor’d me!’ They are referring to a…
Lindores Abbey online
The Lindores Abbey Distillery in Fife, Scotland was an idyllic setting for an exciting rapid event last year, won by…
Domestic bliss?
In Competition No. 3152 you were invited to supply a poem about the joys — or otherwise — of the…
A memory of Burgundy
More than two months: who would have thought it possible? Before the great closure, I had been trying to decide…
2461: Hot off?
The unclued lights (individually or four pairs) lead to a word or phrase which includes a thematic component. Across 1…
High life
Vienna Somebody once described Vienna as a top opera performed by understudies. The remark was unquestionably witty, but utterly false…
Low life
I walked to the salon in fiery sunshine. Gorgeous, zaftig Elody was wearing a short satin dressing gown of silver…
Full stream ahead
From time to time, every industry must adapt to some inconvenient technological advance. Suddenly, some part of what you offer…
Protestors have brought down the lockdown
I wasn’t surprised to see that a woman whose father died at a care home in Bicester in April has…
Dear Mary
Q. Now we are instructed to mingle again, I’m sure I’m not alone in being surprised to find an awkwardness…
Real life
The two horses looked like they had never seen anything like it. They had wound up in a dark car…
The Battle for Britain
Got something to add? Join the discussion and comment below.
Solution to 2458: Bardicarum
The unclued lights Across are Shakespearean LORDS and the Down ones are LADIES. (The plant ‘lords and ladies’ is an…
The turf
Horse racing, it turns out, wasn’t the first sport back in post-lockdown action: that distinction went to pigeon racing when…
Take the knee
That sympathetic physician, Sir Thomas Browne, thought himself austere in conversation. ‘Yet, at my devotion,’ he confessed in Religio Medici…
Home truths
In Competition No. 3151 you were invited to imagine famous authors reflecting on their struggles with DIY. Highlights in a…
