36 minutes with the crossing pair 5dn and 15ac accounting for my missing my 30 minute target. I found this a lively and interesting puzzle but not too difficult. Deletions are in curly brackets. Across … Read more “Times 25917”
Month: October 2014
Quick Cryptic No 157 by Orpheus
This is a top notch offering which travels around the northern hemisphere, has some witty clues (I’ve selected 2 COD – clues of the day) and has the reappearance of a sweet which appeared in … Read more “Quick Cryptic No 157 by Orpheus”
Times 25916 – Check your grooves…er, make that Groves!
Solving time: Not recorded Music: None, golf on TV again. I worked this puzzle while watching the last 7 holes of the Frys.com on TV, so no time. I would watch a hole or two, … Read more “Times 25916 – Check your grooves…er, make that Groves!”
Quick Cryptic 156 by Grumpy
The puzzle can be found at http://feeds.thetimes.co.uk/timescrossword/20141013/288/ A straightforward Quicky with just the odd bit of general knowledge that might cause a delay. Some smooth surfaces again, though you’ll have to excuse a small amount … Read more “Quick Cryptic 156 by Grumpy”
Times Jumbo 1112
Solved in just under 31 minutes, and usually I reckon anything under 35 on a Jumbo is about par for the course in terms of difficulty. Lots of nice clues, though. With Jumbos, which attract … Read more “Times Jumbo 1112”
Sunday Times 4610 (5 Oct 2014) by Jeff Pearce
Solving time: 33:06 A fairly gentle offering this week. Nothing particularly stood out for a COD, but there was nothing I hated either, so quite a vanilla puzzle I felt. But that’s not intended as … Read more “Sunday Times 4610 (5 Oct 2014) by Jeff Pearce”
Mephisto 2823 – Don Manley
Most of this is crystal-clear wordplay for obscure and not-so-obscure words, but there’s still one that is nagging me, and with two unchecked letters there’s the slight chance that I’m wrong, though there is a … Read more “Mephisto 2823 – Don Manley”
Saturday Times 25909 – (4th Oct): Villa Rides!
Solving time approx. 12 minutes (I had a bit of a backlog on Monday but managed to get this and four others done on the 1 hour train journey to London – great practice for … Read more “Saturday Times 25909 – (4th Oct): Villa Rides!”
Times 25,914: The Moaning After
Well, this morning proved a struggle. It was my birthday yesterday and I’m afraid to say that seven drinks at two separate London hostelries last night may have been three or four too many. Bleary … Read more “Times 25,914: The Moaning After”
Quick Cryptic Number 155 by Dazzler
A teasing crossword to round off an excellent week of quickies. For me, the recent level of difficulty has been just right – some new vocabulary fairly clued and some chewy wordplay for more obvious … Read more “Quick Cryptic Number 155 by Dazzler”