Life
Why we pick the wrong holiday destinations
Having returned from a fortnight’s break, I wonder if we get holidays all wrong. In northern Europe, the custom is…
The chronic misuse of ‘dire’
‘Dire?’ said my husband. ‘It’s something chronic.’ He was putting on his idea of an Estuary accent, in a manner…
2570: Short story - solution
Arthur C. Clarke (31/45) said that Ernest Hemingway (35/12) won a bet from fellow writers for the shortest story: FOR…
2573
22 5 42 14 25 31: 29-40, 10-26. Across 1 Hidden by grass, squad joined after separation (8) 9…
A toast to absent friends
There have been few more momentous weeks in British history, or indeed in world history. This commentator must plead guilty.…
Spectator competition winners: Philip Larkin’s poems rewritten by other poets
In Competition No. 3266, you were invited to reimagine one of Philip Larkin’s poems in the style of a poet…
No. 720
White to play and mate in two moves. Composed by Edith Baird, for The Chess Amateur, 1923. Answers should be…
Bridge | 17 September 2022
It’s tough trying to recall every card that the opponents have played when you’re in the middle of a tricky…
Pique or cheat?
In the third round of the Sinquefield Cup in St Louis, Magnus Carlsen was beaten by 19-year old Hans Niemann,…
The Battle for Britain | 17 September 2022
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What Charles shouldn’t do
One of the most regrettable trends of the past few decades is the creep of politics into every aspect of…
Aussie life
What is it about Daniel Andrews, quasi-dictator of Victoria? He runs what Tony Abbott last week called ‘the worst government…
Language
The word ‘sovereignty’ is recorded as part of the English language since at least 1340 – a very old word…
Drama at Lord’s: Stumped is a treat for cricket fans
So farewell to cricket’s The Hundred tournament, or what seemed by the end to be beefy South Africans in ‘Butterkist’…
Dear Mary: How do I get my friends to leave after a dinner party?
Q. We have made available our mews cottage – 30 yards from our main house – to a woman with…
The death of customer service
The ladies in the bank now wear badges telling you to Be Kind and not do anything that might upset…
I’ve finally been offended by a joke
I went to the O2 on Sunday night to see the comedians Dave Chappelle and Chris Rock. Chappelle, who survived…
What Soho House has got right: Electric Diner reviewed
Electric Diner is from the Soho House group, which has done terrible things to private clubs, luckless farmhouses, domestic interior…
The cereal ambiguity of ‘corn’
‘Wha, wha?’ said my husband in a slack-jawed way, throwing over a copy of the Guardian, as though it was…
The Battle for Britain | 10 September 2022
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Bridge | 10 September 2022
When was the last time you made a doubled slam – a slam that could and should have been defeated…
I’m a one-woman man
Gstaad There’s a fin de saison feeling around here, but the restaurants are still full and the sons of the…
Chess speaks for itself
‘Plug the fucking laptop in!’ Hans Niemann, the lively 19-year-old from the US, was left fuming – understandably – after…
When the bone pain gets bad, my inner NCO keeps me in check
In Frederic Manning’s classic Great War novel, The Middle Parts of Fortune, the shattered battalion shambles out of the line…
No. 719
White to play. Cornette-Feller, French Champion-ship, August 2022. Black has just played 13…h7-h6. How did White capitalise on this mistake?…
