Solving time 15:12 Should have been quicker, but I got stuck for a while on the last two to go in, 19 across and down, mainly because I couldn’t see why 19d should be GENERAL … Read more “Times Saturday 23832 (Feb 9)”
Month: February 2008
Times 23837 – Phew!
This took me a good hour but I probably spent longer working out the clues whilst solving than I normally would. There was some lovely stuff along the way and only a couple of queries or … Read more “Times 23837 – Phew!”
Times 23,836
Solving time: 9:44 Good fun. I filled in about three quarters of it pretty quickly but slowed for the north-east corner. If only I had been able to solve the anagram at 6 (ORCHESTRATE) on … Read more “Times 23,836”
23,835 – challenging but still lovely
Solving time: 12:54 Hardest of the month so far I think, but also one of the best. Had to wait until about 14A for my first answer, and then needed a minute or two on … Read more “23,835 – challenging but still lovely”
Times 23834 Ancient Arcane Alphabets
Solving time : 40 minutes Some obscure stuff today and one or two clues such as 24 down that would not be out of place in Mephisto. We have two old alphabets and an old … Read more “Times 23834 Ancient Arcane Alphabets”
23,833 – some flowery words
Solving time: 36 mins Not too bad today – I had to look up a couple of unfamiliar words. A few made me smile – and that’s what it’s all about, isn’t it? Across 1 … Read more “23,833 – some flowery words”
ST 4262 (Sun 3 Feb) – Essay crisis
Solving time: 8:45 Unless I am very much mistaken there are two faulty clues in this puzzle, 23ac (OSIERS) and 20dn (ESSAYED). That a Sunday broadsheet crossword with a wide circulation and significant prize should … Read more “ST 4262 (Sun 3 Feb) – Essay crisis”
Mephisto 2475 – Chris Feetenby
Most of this fell rather readily, I had to check a few spellings. I like this style of Mephisto where the obscure words have fair wordplay and enough checking letters to give someone of my … Read more “Mephisto 2475 – Chris Feetenby”
Times Jumbo 739 – Thought I was a week late!
Solving time: 36:22 Peter’s “false start” with Jumbo 740 had me disorientated for a while, but after checking the calendar I confirmed that I should be posting this blog this weekend! I enjoyed this Jumbo … Read more “Times Jumbo 739 – Thought I was a week late!”
Times Saturday 23826 (Feb 02)
Solving time 12:55 Almost a pangram, with just the X missing – which is quite surprising as it would have been quite easy to fit the X in, e.g. with NEXT at 25D, changing 28A … Read more “Times Saturday 23826 (Feb 02)”