Life
2471: Inky
The unclued lights can be associated with an undisclosed quality. All associations can be found in Brewer and/or Chambers. Alphabetical…
2468: noah entry? solution
The puzzle’s number 2468 was printed above the grid, hence ‘The theme is confirmed by the information provided.’ Letters deficient…
The danger of following ‘the science’
I have decided to divorce my wife after 31 years on scientific grounds. Though perfectly happy, on reassessing my original…
Tutti-bam! Frutti-boom! Musical double dactyls
In Competition No. 3162 you were invited to submit double dactyls on stars of popular or classical music. Fans of…
The Battle for Britain | 22 August 2020
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No. 618
Black to play. McShane–Anand, World Rapid Championship 2017. While executing my last move, 51 Qf4-f3, attacking the h5-pawn, I got…
Streaks of brilliance
Last week, snooker ace Ronnie O’Sullivan won his sixth World Championship at the age of 44, a full 19 years…
Aussie Life
I’ve always been a bit of a ‘prepper’. Pre-2020 that’s something I would’ve never admitted. It’s embarrassing to say I…
How to fight a good war
Serifos There’s no high life here, only family life, so I’ve been hitting the books about great Greeks of…
Would this Marseille-bound flight be the death of me?
‘There’s no need to wipe down your tray table,’ screeched Heidi, chief steward of the ‘amazing team you have looking…
The joy of pickling
We have beans, peas, potatoes, tomatoes, butternut squash, plums and strawberries growing in our garden. I dug up and replanted…
2470: Express route
The unclued lights from 1 Down to 44 are of a kind with 4 overrunning a barline into 22. Ignore…
The Battle for Britain | 15 August 2020
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No. 617
Black to play. Efimov–Bronstein, Kiev 1941. Normally White seeks glory in the King’s Gambit, but here Bronstein scored a lightning…
Bridge | 15 August 2020
I am frankly repulsed by the latest cheats, exposed after the online invitational Alt and OCBL tournaments. When F2F bridge…
Dear Mary: What can I do about fellow passengers who won’t wear face masks?
Q. On my way to Devon recently I stopped for lunch with an impeccably mannered friend. He produced first crab…
Did Taylor Swift really ‘overthink’ her album release?
Sometimes when I ask my stertorous husband in his armchair whether he is asleep, he replies with a start: ‘Just…
I’ve started a dating site for lockdown sceptics
I started a dating site last Sunday. Not words I ever thought I’d write, but I’ve become a kind of…
The absurd self-pity of Stuart Broad
You are, shall we say, a famous commentator, one of a tiny elite in the British media. You are paid…
A great Dane: Snaps + Rye reviewed
Snaps + Rye is a Nordic-themed restaurant and delicatessen on the Golborne Road, at the shabby and thrilling edges of…
2467: Girl Talk solution
The unclued lights, 3/34, 12/31, 26/1A/33, 35/9, 39 and 18 PEAKE (an anagram of the red highlighted letters), are six…
Spectator competition winners: Keatsian sonnets
In Competition No. 3161 you were invited to supply a sonnet with certain rhyme words to be used in a…
The King’s Gambit
Does Bear Grylls play chess? If he does, I’m sure he would favour the King’s Gambit. As chess openings go,…
Aussie Life
Two friends of mine are being harassed by the government. Both men have criticised the more lurid aspects of LGBTQ+…
The proof that free speech in universities is in peril
About 18 months ago, I attended a debate at Policy Exchange, the think tank founded by Nick Boles, Francis Maude…
