It was a pretty crazy weekend, so I didn’t make my usual Sunday start on the Mephisto, though I did print it out. I got an email from Peter Biddlecombe alerting that there was an … Read more “Mephisto 2715 – Don Manley”
Month: September 2012
Jumbo 996 – Saturday 1st September
[ SAT 15th ] Slightly caught out by the sneaky bank holiday jumbo – was away when 996 came out, did it on the tuesday, but didnt make any notes, now I cant find it! … Read more “Jumbo 996 – Saturday 1st September”
Saturday Times 25263 (8th Sept) – tricky but brilliant!
Solving time, probably about an hour, but I was pretty hung-over when I attempted it the day after Dean’s party! This generated 44 comments on the Times forum, but inexplicably most of them were negative. … Read more “Saturday Times 25263 (8th Sept) – tricky but brilliant!”
Times 25268 – Slugs with silly tails
Solving time: 33:58 – with one careless mistake. An enjoyable puzzle on the whole that I found fairly straightforward. I failed to fully analyse 26a until post-solve, throwing in GASTROPODS and moving swiftly on. I … Read more “Times 25268 – Slugs with silly tails”
Times 25267 – does 11 from a 26 still leave you 1 down?
Solving time : 14:02 on the club timer, a steady but solid solve. On a first pass through the across answers I only managed three so I thought that it was going to be a … Read more “Times 25267 – does 11 from a 26 still leave you 1 down?”
Times 25266: They put bromide in your tea
Solving time: 19:42 A few obscurities which, once navigated, make for a quite simple puzzle. The cryptic defs at 11ac, 23ac, 18dn (all omitted) suggest the paucity of this clue-type. My view is: no wordplay, … Read more “Times 25266: They put bromide in your tea”
Times Crossword 25,265 – emergency blog
Solving Time: About 14 minutes, so average or maybe a bit easier. Still I enjoyed it, and it will no doubt be a relief to those sensitive souls still recovering from the rigours of the … Read more “Times Crossword 25,265 – emergency blog”
Times 25264
36 minutes. My third blog and the crossword gods are still shining their faces upon me. This was the second simple puzzle in a row (counting yesterday’s, which I did in 20 minutes), and that … Read more “Times 25264”
Mephisto 2714 by Paul McKenna – Congress Compendium
Straightforward puzzle of around average level of difficulty but with some stimulating references. I have a problem with one clue, 11A, where I think “Something to alter the best…” should perhaps read “Something to alter … Read more “Mephisto 2714 by Paul McKenna – Congress Compendium”
Sunday Times 4501 (2 Sep 2012) by Tim Moorey
Solving time: 53:41 I didn’t like this one. There were one or two clues that I liked, but they got rather lost amongst all the ones I didn’t. I won’t dwell on them here, as … Read more “Sunday Times 4501 (2 Sep 2012) by Tim Moorey”