Solving time: maybe 6-7 minutes on the day I expect my time to be beaten – it includes what felt like a couple of minutes of jitters near the end (though it may actually have … Read more “24,051 – 2008 Champs Prelim 1, Puzzle 1”
Month: October 2008
Times 24,050 Trench Warfare
Solving time : 40 minutes I struggled at times with this and then found it difficult to decide which clues to omit from the blog – always a sign of a good puzzle. There are … Read more “Times 24,050 Trench Warfare”
Mephisto 2511 – Paul McKenna
This was a nifty little puzzle. I didn’t get a lot out in the first sitting, but came back to it later and managed to make a big dent in it the second time around. … Read more “Mephisto 2511 – Paul McKenna”
24049
Solving time: 56 minutes I made heavy weather of this, pencilling part answers in left, right and center only to find they were totally wrong! Quite a few new words for me – and a … Read more “24049”
ST 4298 (Sat 12 Oct) – Fita, Apia, more obstructive
Solving time: 11 mins, 5 of which on 30ac. After a couple of very good puzzles, this one was very much at the other end of the spectrum, being riddled with mistakes and dodgy clues. … Read more “ST 4298 (Sat 12 Oct) – Fita, Apia, more obstructive”
Jumbo 779 – one of the worst?
In past weeks I’ve been extolling the virtues of the Saturday Jumbo and recommending people find time to have a go. I hope that this wasn’t the one that you good people decided to start … Read more “Jumbo 779 – one of the worst?”
Jumbo 780 – one of the best
I posted this a week too early, if you’re wondering why early comments are a bit cryptic. If you haven’t solved this puzzle, get yourself a copy and do so NOW – it’s packed with … Read more “Jumbo 780 – one of the best”
Saturday Times 24042 (11 Oct)
Solved in the paper in my Cheltenham hotel room last week, and not very helpful to my confidence in the Championships! Over half an hour certainly, although I did keep falling asleep while solving it … Read more “Saturday Times 24042 (11 Oct)”
Times Crossword 24047
Solving time: 9.24, which felt as if it should have been faster. I didn’t think this was a very interesting puzzle; quite a few of the clues just seemed to lack inspiration and to be … Read more “Times Crossword 24047”
Times 24,046
Solving time: 19:10 Mortification for me. I put in SETTLED for SAMPLED at 18D. I can’t now see why. Anyway that made 21A very difficult, and I was left puzzling over it, 16D, 15A and … Read more “Times 24,046”