I had fun solving this one, which was just right for me in terms of difficulty. I liked the less direct definitions of 23ac and 5dn, and I’m glad I took the time to parse … Read more “Quick Cryptic 727 by Mara”
Month: December 2016
Quick Cryptic 726 by Orpheus
Rather like Christmas this was all going along very happily but then I got rather weighed down in the middle. 3dn, 12dn, 13dn but, probably most of all, 15ac causing the discomfort. The latter was … Read more “Quick Cryptic 726 by Orpheus”
Times 26600
This took me a little over an hour but was a technical DNF as I resorted to aids for 3dn and 12ac. It then transpired that part of my problem at 12ac was caused by … Read more “Times 26600”
Times 26599 – Not my favorite chewing gum….but chewy!
Solving time: 83 minutes Music: None, the records and the stereo are packed I can’t really say I was on the wavelength. This is one of the sort of puzzles where if you happen to … Read more “Times 26599 – Not my favorite chewing gum….but chewy!”
Quick Cryptic 725 by Pedro
A gentle offering to begin the week leading up to Christmas. Pedro mentions on his website that one of his puzzles this week (he also sets elsewhere under different names) “might” contain something seasonal – … Read more “Quick Cryptic 725 by Pedro”
Sunday Times 4724 by Jeff Pearce
11:56, slowed down considerably by a justifiable but wrong answer at 7dn, which made the unknown (to me) painting at 20ac difficult to get. Eventually I realised that the anagrist didn’t contain an E so … Read more “Sunday Times 4724 by Jeff Pearce”
A few bits of seasonal news
1. The puzzles on Sunday 18th shouldn’t be blogged until 1st January, as they have an extended deadline (presumably because there’s no paper on Christmas Day). 2. The online-only Christmas Day puzzles can be blogged … Read more “A few bits of seasonal news”
Jumbo 1238
Nothing much to comment on here – a straightforward Jumbo. The only thing that took a little time was justifying the solution to 52A – but the answer was clear from the checking letters. Across … Read more “Jumbo 1238”
Saturday Times 26592 (10th December)
Wow, that was sort of a stinker and sort of not. I solved it last Sunday on paper but had numerous interruptions, as I was on call and got called a lot! Maybe 30 mins … Read more “Saturday Times 26592 (10th December)”
Times 26,597: Nothing But A Bunch Of X’s Between One’s Hands
Christmas is coming, the clues are getting fat, please drop a penny in the French poet’s hat. I never have a vast amount of energy the morning after blogging a T(a)L(o)S puzzle – due to … Read more “Times 26,597: Nothing But A Bunch Of X’s Between One’s Hands”