Solving time: 36 minutes Music: Bert Jansch, Moonshine This puzzle was quite difficult for a Monday offering, and I was quite pleased at how quickly I was able to unravel some of the clues. Fortunately, … Read more “Times 26179 – Poet’s advice, say?”
Month: August 2015
Jumbo 1161 – August 1st 2015
Solid, middle of the road offering. Small spatterings of unknown terms, or convoluted cluing, but in the main clear and well signed constructions. Across 1 QUARTERMASTER – QUARTER=fourth, (rate ms)* 8 TOPPING UP – either … Read more “Jumbo 1161 – August 1st 2015”
Mephisto 2867 – Paul McKenna
Apologies to the seven and a half regular Mephisto readers. I appear to have gotten very drunk in Boston and will not be posting the solution until mid-Sunday afternoon. If you have a query, please … Read more “Mephisto 2867 – Paul McKenna”
Sunday Times 4654 by Tim Moorey – where’s Ralph?
I write this (or rather post it – I’ve been picking away at it all week) from Toronto Pearson airport, waiting for my flight home from holiday. So I’m feeling a bit glum, but I … Read more “Sunday Times 4654 by Tim Moorey – where’s Ralph?”
Saturday Times 26172 (8th Aug) – not a piece of cake!
Solving time 26:37 on the club timer, which is slow for me but none of the usual speed merchants managed under 10 minutes so it was very tricky! I was doing okay at first but … Read more “Saturday Times 26172 (8th Aug) – not a piece of cake!”
Times 26,177: Little Old Lady Who?
Well I think I enjoyed this one a lot – but I did it on paper again, and it felt as though there were various traps in there for the unwary (e.g. -NCE v -NSE … Read more “Times 26,177: Little Old Lady Who?”
Quick Cryptic No 374 by Hurley
Hurley usually gives us a nice balanced puzzle with some good anagrams and this one is no exception. I ran through it in five or six minutes ending with 12d; should have been an easy … Read more “Quick Cryptic No 374 by Hurley”
Quick Cryptic No 373 by Orpheus – quick blog too, rivers everywhere.
Standing in at short notice for Macavity, so please excuse any brevity or indeed the tedium of seeing me again tomorrow. I’d normally be on the fifteenth by now but thunder and torrential rain are … Read more “Quick Cryptic No 373 by Orpheus – quick blog too, rivers everywhere.”
Times 26176 – a little light relief
Solving time : 8:12 on the club timer, which currently has me in the lead spot, mere seconds ahead of some of our esteemed regular contributors. A relief, since I’m coming to this a little … Read more “Times 26176 – a little light relief”
Times 26175 – Biffer’s bonanza
I’m in a hurry again today, have to leave shortly; solving the puzzle correctly took me twenty-five minutes, but I have to confess, as I write this little intro I have not fully parsed two … Read more “Times 26175 – Biffer’s bonanza”