My life is in chaos. Well, disarray. Thanks to a virus with the catchy epithet H5N8 – la grippe aviaire. It takes me 35 minutes – sometimes 34 – to get to or from the … Read more “Times 26589 – no duck soup here”
Month: December 2016
Quick Cryptic 717 by Hurley
A straightforward puzzle. I was not entirely familiar with 9ac or 20ac, but both came into consciousness readily enough. Very neat clue at 4dn, which raised a smile. Thanks Hurley (and our resident Time Lord). … Read more “Quick Cryptic 717 by Hurley”
Quick Cryptic 716 by Mara
16 minutes for this one which included a few chewy clues – rather more complex in structure than most QCs. As I don’t get much time for the 15×15 these days I enjoyed the cleverness … Read more “Quick Cryptic 716 by Mara”
Times Cryptic 26588
A fairly straightforward puzzle that took me 35 minutes to solve. Everything more I have to say about it is in the blog, so here it is… As usual definitions are underlined in bold italics, … Read more “Times Cryptic 26588”
Times 26587 – Or maybe lose some….
Solving time: 50 minutes Music: Old Blind Dogs, Wherever Yet May Be I encountered a number of problems with this one. While I was nearly finished in 15 minutes, the remaining clues proved quite elusive. … Read more “Times 26587 – Or maybe lose some….”
Quick Cryptic 715 by Orpheus
Not a difficult one from Orpheus today, meaning I had to reluctantly return to Christmas shopping rather sooner than perhaps I might have liked (though the upside of online shopping is that I often end … Read more “Quick Cryptic 715 by Orpheus”
JUMBO 1236
This was mostly very straightforward with just a smattering of “funny” words to sort the men from the chaff. First in was PARASOL and last two were RAREE SHOW and ERINYES. Are you sitting comfortably? … Read more “JUMBO 1236”
Sunday Times 4722 by Dean Mayer
I normally try to do these blogs soon after solving the puzzle. At the very least I will make a start, which generally means reading through the clues to make sure I understand everything and … Read more “Sunday Times 4722 by Dean Mayer”
Mephisto 2935 – Tim Moorey
Not too difficult here, got through everything in one session. You don’t often find a theme or a Nina in a Sunday Times puzzle, but if I’m not way off the mark, then there is … Read more “Mephisto 2935 – Tim Moorey”
Saturday Times 26580 (26th Nov)
Solving time 12:30, so on the easier side. There were a few very easy clues in amongst this lot, e.g. 1D, 29A – and a few that could be written in fairly confidently without having … Read more “Saturday Times 26580 (26th Nov)”