Solving time – 38:42 This was another brilliant Saturday puzzle, in the same league as 23647 a few weeks ago. All the surface readings were good. Some of the wordplay was fiendish, some humorous. All … Read more “Times Saturday 23671 (Aug 4th)”
Month: August 2007
ST 4236 (Sun 5 Aug) – Miskicks
Solving time: 10:15 Very ‘Sunday Timesey’ this week, with a few quibbles: 5ac, 13ac and 1dn are probably the main ones. A few difficult words – 24ac, 20dn and 13ac were all new to me. … Read more “ST 4236 (Sun 5 Aug) – Miskicks”
Unofficial Times cryptic RTC No. 4 – your times please
This week’s changes – nothing except a plea to follow the exact formatting – no extra commas, and all the zeroes, with colons between them. The rest of this post is the same as before, … Read more “Unofficial Times cryptic RTC No. 4 – your times please”
Times 23,676 – Fast Friday
Friday puzzles seem to be a bit easier than the rest of the week these days. I thought Monday was supposed to be the easiest day. Time taken: 9m 25s ACROSS 1 HIGH – double … Read more “Times 23,676 – Fast Friday”
23,675 – tricky
Solving time : 29:59 I found this very difficult, mainly because I was slow on all the long clues. 11D took ages, and left with 15A, I decided I had to finish within 30 minutes … Read more “23,675 – tricky”
23674 – twenty again
Solving time 5:58 Mostly straightforward, but included a reminder of my recent disaster with VIGESIMAL at 2D, where I waited for checking letters before putting anything in the grid. Across 1 COVEN=witches,TRY=go into (the investigative … Read more “23674 – twenty again”
Mephisto 2448 – Chris Feetenby
Sorry, late again. Solving time: 19:05 without C, one mistake – 22D, where I didn’t understand the wordplay and the floor is open. After really struggling with my last blogged Mephisto, this was much easier … Read more “Mephisto 2448 – Chris Feetenby”
23,673 – Mind games
Mostly straightforward but 28A,29A and 17D provided something of a sting in the tail and cost me an irksome couple of minutes. The sort of puzzle that I look at after solving and ask myself … Read more “23,673 – Mind games”
23672 – truly old-fashioned
Solving time of 48:24 A slow start at the top – finished the bottom fairly quickly and then went back to fill in the gaps.I don’t know enough Shakespearean words. I also need to know … Read more “23672 – truly old-fashioned”
Unofficial Times cryptic RTC contest No. 3 – results
Jason wins both contests in another week of mixed fortunes. Two battle-hardened veterans take second and third in the mini-championship after avoiding the various errors – especially on the tricky SATORI and THEMED in 23668. … Read more “Unofficial Times cryptic RTC contest No. 3 – results”