Times Quick cryptic 744 by Orpheus Friday 13th January 2017 This puzzle has everything: lots of musical references, as befits Orpheus; Shakespeare; geography; mathematics; an obscure new word or two; two chemistry references; plus some … Read more “Times Quick cryptic 744 by Orpheus: Triskaidekaphobia”
Month: January 2017
TLS Crossword 1156 by Talos – December 23, 2016
Judging from a well-populated stat board and the comments on the Club site, this seems to have been a deservedly popular puzzle. The two quotations at 1A and D gave a friendly foothold and there … Read more “TLS Crossword 1156 by Talos – December 23, 2016”
Quick cryptic No 743 by Des
I don’t think I have blogged a puzzle by Des before, and I had no difficulty adapting to him on this occasion, my total time being well inside my 15 minute target. Some nice clues … Read more “Quick cryptic No 743 by Des”
Times 26620 – 11 drinks later…
Solving time : 39:40 with my friend Brian helping me get one. OK – I am probably not in the best solving form at the moment since we went to Epcot at Walt Disney World … Read more “Times 26620 – 11 drinks later…”
Times 26619 – put that in and smoke it.
Maybe I was in a less than enthusiastic mood today, but I found this more of a plod than a pleasure; I hope the esteemed setter will forgive me if everyone else finds it a … Read more “Times 26619 – put that in and smoke it.”
Quick Cryptic 742 by Hawthorn
I’ve had the pleasure of blogging a few Hawthorn puzzles recently, and they have always been beautifully crafted. This one is no exception. I’ve now totally given up on predicting degree of difficulty around the … Read more “Quick Cryptic 742 by Hawthorn”
Quick Cryptic 741 by Pedro
13 minutes with 15dn/20ac being the last to fall. The long clue at 8ac could prove the key to faster times as it provides many crossing letters including the first letter of the long 9dn … Read more “Quick Cryptic 741 by Pedro”
Times 26618
I had problems with this one solved over two sessions and probably need most of an hour in all. In particular I came to grief in the SW corner where the French word eluded me … Read more “Times 26618”
Times Quick Cryptic 740 by Joker
I’ve no solving time for this one as I nodded off and returned to it later. I can’t imagine I found it hard as many of the clues are very straightforward, so I must have … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic 740 by Joker”
Mephisto 2940 – Paul McKenna – Let’s Rename it the River Chanel
A middle of the road puzzle to start the New Year with no less than eight full anagrams. We appear to have clue padding at 6D, which works perfectly well without the questionable word. At … Read more “Mephisto 2940 – Paul McKenna – Let’s Rename it the River Chanel”