I was going to welcome a new setter, but a glance at my notes on former puzzles revealed that Palpatine has appeared once before (#300 in May last year) when he (?) treated us to … Read more “Quick Cryptic 540 by Palpatine”
Month: April 2016
Mephisto 2900 – Paul McKenna
Best puzzle for some time I thought. Some unusual anagram indicators, clever definitions, and tricky wordplays. Loved it. Across 1 BLOUSON – B(LOUS(e))ON; swine=louse; french for good=BON; a jacket; 7 RAZE – sounds like “rays”; … Read more “Mephisto 2900 – Paul McKenna”
Sunday Times 4687 by David McLean – Off With His Head!
A most enjoyable romp with an intriguing mix of some unusually (for “Harry”) straightforward stuff – 1d, 18d and 7d come to mind – and some tricky ones such as 5d, 15d and the excellent … Read more “Sunday Times 4687 by David McLean – Off With His Head!”
Saturday Times 26370 (26 March)
No time for this, solved in the paper for a change over a leisurely pint. Probably no more than 15 minutes though, as it wasn’t too difficult. Very enjoyable solve though (apart from 3dn). Across … Read more “Saturday Times 26370 (26 March)”
Times 26,375: Blessed Are The Cheesemakers
An excellent and chewy puzzle to ring in a new month with, I thought. My aged mum is staying with us for the Easter hols to perform important kid-wrangling duties, so the Blogging Room was … Read more “Times 26,375: Blessed Are The Cheesemakers”
Quick Cryptic 539 by Dazzler
A good workout from Dazzler, with some tricky clues and some more familiar outings. LOI 5a and COD 22a ings Across 1 Witticism involving English farm animals: EPIGRAM English = E, farm animals = PIG, … Read more “Quick Cryptic 539 by Dazzler”
Club Monthly 20186 March 2016
Reasonably straightforward this month. 6dn a little complex to parse for a 4 letter word, which however is in Chambers, ODO, Collins etc. Sorry the blog is a little on the terse side, do ask … Read more “Club Monthly 20186 March 2016”