Happy birthday, Raydoc (Sunday Brunch: May 11, 2014)

Raydoc (right) and family
on a blustery day in Nantucket

Today we wish a very happy birthday (one with a zero!) to Raydoc.  Being a diagnostician by trade, it’s not surprising he likes puzzles too.

We have a nice Rows Garden (by Patrick Berry) in the Wall Street Journal this weekend. Hints are available if you need them.  They’re in white print so you can take as much or as little help as you need.

Mark Halpin has composed a tough variety cryptic in honor of the documentary “Six by Sondheim.”

There is a diagramless by Fred Piscop in the New York Times today.  Comment (and spoilers) by Deb Amlen at Wordplay.  The solution is posted elsewhere on the blog.

The National Post cryptic by Hex has a few baseball-related clues, but is otherwise themeless, and not too difficult.

Fraser Simpson’s Globe and Mail cryptic isn’t as easy as last week.  2d is a good example of the difference between his puzzles and most other North American cryptics: the clue is “close of play” and the answer is EPILOGUE.  The clue is a single definition and no wordplay.  The cryptic element comes because the phrase “close of play” is usually used to describe the schedule of a cricket match and not a drama.