Solving time of 21:57, and I generally don’t get much quicker than that, so very much to one end of the difficulty scale; it was also very concise, and more than a little cheeky in … Read more “Times Jumbo 1187”
Month: January 2016
Sunday Times 4678 by David McLean – do you think you can tell?
24:12. The second outing for our new setter, and I for one found it a stiff challenge. I had a sense of engaging with a new and unfamiliar setting mind, and struggling to find the … Read more “Sunday Times 4678 by David McLean – do you think you can tell?”
Mephisto 2891 – Paul McKenna
This was a pretty swift solve on Sunday morning, assisted by there being four wholly-checked entries around the outside of a grid that offers 90-degree symmetry and a smaller number of out-there grid entries. I … Read more “Mephisto 2891 – Paul McKenna”
Saturday Times 26316 (23rd Jan)
Solved in exactly 10 minutes to the second,and on paper, so definitely an easy one. A lot of the wordplay was quite intricate, but it seemed to me that the definitions were often very specific, … Read more “Saturday Times 26316 (23rd Jan)”
Jumbo 1188
Fairly straightforward, with any minor difficulties helped by crossing letters. 47A is interesting as, in my opinion, the solution can be made up in two different ways from the wordplay. I don’t know which was … Read more “Jumbo 1188”
Times 26,321: Braine Box
If ever I sing the praises of a crossword too effusively, it normally gets slapped down with multiple mutterings of “huh, some good clues but it wasn’t all THAT”, so I’m going to do this … Read more “Times 26,321: Braine Box”
Quick Cryptic 494 by Joker
After last week’s scamper, I found this one the hardest in a long time, but perhaps others will differ! I think it was due to a number of the definitions (eg 17d, 19a) having meanings … Read more “Quick Cryptic 494 by Joker”
Club Monthly 20184 January 2016
I was getting a bit punch-drunk when this appeared on Jan 1st, having not only a jumbo appearing the same day, but a regular succession of them all over the Christmas period, as well as … Read more “Club Monthly 20184 January 2016”
Times 26320 – look ma, no panto!
Solving time : 17:27, and going by some of the other times on the club timer, I made hard work of this one. It’s late and I’m still a little under the weather, but a … Read more “Times 26320 – look ma, no panto!”
Quick Cryptic 493 by Mara. The wordplay’s the thing.
The setter in playful mode. Some truly excellent clues and some on the harder end of the QCs. Sometimes you just have to slug it out, but this is one where a sort of semi-disciplined … Read more “Quick Cryptic 493 by Mara. The wordplay’s the thing.”