Solving time : 23 minutes, which is on the slow side for me, I’m not sure if this is a difficult crossword or just one of those days where I’m not on the same wavelength … Read more “Times 24255: going round in circles twice”
Month: June 2009
Times 24254
Solving time: 19:00 A good tough puzzle. Assuming others find it equally tough, there was some good judgement from the setter/editor combo here, as a sprinkling of easy clues gave you enough to keep going … Read more “Times 24254”
Times 24,253 Salvage Frogman in Camouflage
Solving time : 25 minutes A standard Times cryptic with a levening of slang, cricket, religion, obscure poet and so on. There are no less than five long anagrams. Across 1 CARESS – CARES-S; pet=canoodle … Read more “Times 24,253 Salvage Frogman in Camouflage”
Superfluous roue certain to become a tough boss?
Solving time: 18 minutes Music: Sibelius, Symphony #2, Schippers/NYP This puzzle should be very easy for everyone but the rawest beginner. I expect to see very fast times from all the regulars. Across 1 TWELFTH … Read more “Superfluous roue certain to become a tough boss?”
ST 4332 (Sun 7 Jun) – 17A of vitroil
Solving time: 6:10 A pretty good puzzle without too many quibbles, although 17ac confuses me and I may have got the wrong answer. * = anagram, “X” = sounds like ‘X’. Across 1 CORNETTIST; (RENT … Read more “ST 4332 (Sun 7 Jun) – 17A of vitroil”
Jumbo 818
Solving time: 19:30 An easyish Jumbo with quite a few plants in answers or wordplay – 1A, 47, 57, 45 (twice!), 31. Probably coincidence rather than an intentional theme. Across 1 HER,B(P)AR,IS – a fairly … Read more “Jumbo 818”
Mephisto 2545 Mike Laws
A puzzle that was as easy as the previous week’s had been difficult. It came the day after a very tough Saturday Prize Crossword that took me longer to complete! One point of interest is … Read more “Mephisto 2545 Mike Laws”
Saturday Times 24245 (6th June) – a true classic
Solving time 33 mins, which felt pretty quick for this monster! Almost every clue was a work of art, with the difficulty purely in the deceptive clueing – I can’t see any real obscurities here. … Read more “Saturday Times 24245 (6th June) – a true classic”
Times Crossword 24250
Solving time: 8.07 This was a straightforward and relatively easy end to the week and I expect there will be some fast times. There was quite a lot of wordplay of the “remove a letter … Read more “Times Crossword 24250”
Times 24,249
Solving time: 14:40 I am sure the RMT have good reason for striking, but not having an underground journey disrupts my crosswording. My time may well be better than it would have been as I … Read more “Times 24,249”