I struggled to finish this one, a touch harder than usual I felt, with a couple of words (I confess) I had to go and check out having deduced, or guessed, from the wordplay. The … Read more “Times 26535 – putting the wind up US?”
Month: October 2016
Quick Cryptic 672 by Teazel
I’m attempting to fill Nick’s spacious shoes today, so hope there’s nothing glaringly wrong with my interpretations. This was a bottom to top effort for me, with the NE corner taking the longest to disentangle. … Read more “Quick Cryptic 672 by Teazel”
Quick Crytpic 671 by Hurley
Rather chewier than usual – I felt lucky to come in at 15 minutes (which often means everyone else will have breezed through this in record times). Consistently good surfaces made this a pleasure – … Read more “Quick Crytpic 671 by Hurley”
Times Cryptic 26534
This one took me far too long over several sessions and there were at least two clues where I had to rethink the parsing several times before coming up (I hope) with the goods. There … Read more “Times Cryptic 26534”
Times 26533 – Pay More Heed
I thought this was a little on the trickier side for a Monday. Well, a lot trickier if you include 10a, where I managed to fall into the heffalump trap like Pooh and his cerebrally … Read more “Times 26533 – Pay More Heed”
Quick Cryptic 670 by Joker
This one by Joker took me 8 minutes, somewhat better than my times on his most recent four puzzles which I needed between 11 and 15 minutes to complete. I’ve also had many a 15 … Read more “Quick Cryptic 670 by Joker”
Jumbo 1227 September 17, 2016 – Cryptathon
Have to admit to having struggled with this one. Took well over an hour, had to look a couple up for confirmation and still managed to get the French composer wrong. I think it was … Read more “Jumbo 1227 September 17, 2016 – Cryptathon”
Mephisto 2926 by Tim Moorey – who needs 3 and 4 letter words?
A puzzle distinguished by its most unusual grid which is 12×12 but has only 24 lights with four five letter words the shortest answers. An interesting piece of compilation. I found it relatively easy because … Read more “Mephisto 2926 by Tim Moorey – who needs 3 and 4 letter words?”
Sunday Times 4713 by Dean Mayer
When the first three across clues all went straight in, I began to wonder if Dean was in a remarkably generous mood or (even less likely) whether I’d finally made a breakthrough to a new … Read more “Sunday Times 4713 by Dean Mayer”
Saturday Times 26526 (24th Sep)
14:58 for this one, could have been quicker but I was stumped by the fiendish 13D (well, I found it fiendish anyway) for about 3 minutes at the end. Bit of a howler at 21D … Read more “Saturday Times 26526 (24th Sep)”