Results of the Festive Survey 2012 Thank you to everyone who made this what any self-respecting TV presenter (there must be some) would call “a bumper year for the Festive Survey!!!” We had 210 participants (compared to … Read more “Festive Survey 2012 – Results”
Month: January 2013
Times 25,366 The Anniversary Waltz
Solving time 20 minutes As you now know 2013 sees the centenary of the invention of the crossword in 1913 so I thought we might highlight one or two less important events in that monumental … Read more “Times 25,366 The Anniversary Waltz”
Times 25365 – He’s a peninsula!
Solving time: 40 minutes Music: Bach, Suites for Cello and Piano, Starker/Sybok Here we have a puzzle designed for the better-educated. If words like ‘usufruct’ do not come easily to mind, and you have not … Read more “Times 25365 – He’s a peninsula!”
2013 – Centenary Year of the Crossword
This year is the centenary of the crossword, the first “Word-Cross” puzzle having been published in the New York World on December 21st 1913. To mark this, John Halpern, a Times setter who also sets … Read more “2013 – Centenary Year of the Crossword”
Sunday Times 4518 (30 Dec 2012) by Jeff Pearce – Substance abuse
Solving time: 24:33 – with one mistake. Quite a gentle Sunday solve this week, after last week’s time-consuming Jumbo. I made one clumsy mistake at 2d due to not spending enough time parsing the wordplay. … Read more “Sunday Times 4518 (30 Dec 2012) by Jeff Pearce – Substance abuse”
Sunday Times 4517 (23 Dec 2012) – Dean’s Christmas Cracker
Solving time: 1:55:40 An excellent Yuletide solve from Anax this. I have no complaints about any of the clues, and some of them were really excellent. 2, 11 & 14 were probably the pick of … Read more “Sunday Times 4517 (23 Dec 2012) – Dean’s Christmas Cracker”
Mephisto 2731 – Tim Moorey
One of the more challenging Mephistos I can recall – there’s a lot that is way outside of my ken, but may be more familiar to more experienced solvers. Not a lot of giveaways, though … Read more “Mephisto 2731 – Tim Moorey”
Jumbo 1013
Published on Boxing Day, so my concentration levels were not at their best when I solved this after a family lunch. I can’t remember my time, but it was nothing special. No particular highlights or … Read more “Jumbo 1013”
Times Jumbo 1012
49:36 on the club timer – this puzzle is only a fortnight old, but it feels like ancient history after a Christmas break in which there were all sorts of bonus puzzles as well as … Read more “Times Jumbo 1012”
Saturday Times 25358 (29th Dec)
Solving time 17:42, not one of the hardest but one of the most enjoyable puzzles of the year. Many great clues but my favourites were 5D, the excellent cryptic def at 23D, and the linked … Read more “Saturday Times 25358 (29th Dec)”