Solving time : After 28 minutes, hit the net to get an answer to 23ac Another puzzle that took me a long time to get started on. Nothing jumped out at me in an initial … Read more “Times 23812 – for want of a brass hat”
Month: January 2008
23,811 – no 5A here
When I do my ‘how to solve’ course on Saturday, I’ll start at the beginning with “what’s a cryptic crossword?”, which rapidly becomes “what’s a cryptic clue?” – a nutshell description before we launch into … Read more “23,811 – no 5A here”
Times 23,810 I think it adze up
Solving time : 40 minutes I found the down clues easier than the across and the bottom half easier than the top. I guessed ADZE and PHONEME and verified afterwards.I’m still thinking about 1 across, … Read more “Times 23,810 I think it adze up”
23809 – Get Thy Bearings
Solving time: 25m40s A nice gentle start to the week after some of the monsters last week. Nothing particularly held me up – I checked WELT and ELIAN after solving, although I was reasonably sure … Read more “23809 – Get Thy Bearings”
Mephisto 2471 – Tim Moorey
This one was a fast start and a very very slow finish. One of the words was well-hidden, not only in the clue, but in the wordplay as well. This puzzle did include a clue … Read more “Mephisto 2471 – Tim Moorey”
ST 4258 (Sun 6 Jan) – Age concern
Solving time: Forgot to record; one mistake (12ac). This crossword doesn’t get any better. Today’s shocker is 6dn (AGE). * = anagram, “X” = sounds like ‘X’. Across 1 BREECHES; BR + (CHEESE)* 6 AS … Read more “ST 4258 (Sun 6 Jan) – Age concern”
Times Saturday 23802 (Jan 5)
Solving time 14:10 This was one of those puzzles which was a real pleasure to solve – not too difficult, but with loads of interesting and witty clues. I started writing this up just after … Read more “Times Saturday 23802 (Jan 5)”
Jumbo 735/New Years day
This was the New Years puzzle. Haven’t done a Jumbo in some time… the solving experience seemed an eternity (over an hour). Had to search for both the lit refs (Shelley and Eliot) and was … Read more “Jumbo 735/New Years day”
Times Jumbo 734
Solving time: 34:47 Quite a straightforward puzzle, although the NW corner did not give up much to begin with, so a slow start, and the SE corner took a little work at the end. I … Read more “Times Jumbo 734”
Polls
For the short term at least, I’m setting up an offsite poll using PhP that can be used to vote for COD. I’ve just put the first one up, link here: http://www.bestfreeforums.com/forums/viewforum.php?f=1&mforum=timescod Ignore things like … Read more “Polls”