After doing the previous Saturday’s blog, I could see some synchronicity in the minds of that setter and this one. A reappearance of “Devil’s Island”, and an echo of “cabbages and kings”, this time actually … Read more “Times Cryptic No 26856 – Saturday, 14 October 2017. Synchronise your cluing.”
Month: October 2017
Jumbo 1288
This was not too difficult, although there are a few clues that may be more difficult for overseas solvers. The US terms are more commonly found over here although I had not come across 39A … Read more “Jumbo 1288”
Times 26,861: What’s The Naughtiest Nina You’ve Ever Found?
I had a similar experience with this puzzle to yesterdays: it seemed above averagely hard due to some original and devious cluing, but steady progress was possible and I hit stop on my timer at … Read more “Times 26,861: What’s The Naughtiest Nina You’ve Ever Found?”
Quick Cryptic 944 by Flamande
I enjoyed this despite the ungodly hour. Good mix of clue types, nothing particularly fiendish. Came in at just over 9min. My favourites are 20ac and 15dn. LOI 16ac, for no obvious reason Across 1 … Read more “Quick Cryptic 944 by Flamande”
Quick cryptic No 943 by Tracy
Well this threw up a surprise or two, with 12a slowing me down in particular, and resulting in a time of 17 minutes for me. Some nice succinct clues though, and a nice selection of … Read more “Quick cryptic No 943 by Tracy”
Times 26860 – a definite climb up a 1 across
Solving time : 18:58. There are several faster times than me on the leaderboard already, so I have a feeling I was not the intended audience for this puzzle. I’m not often critical of a … Read more “Times 26860 – a definite climb up a 1 across”
Times 26859 – more than a couple of gems
I haven’t done yesterday’s (26858) yet, but this one seemed to me to be an order of magnitude easier than Monday’s, where the SE corner had me flummoxed. No longer are we able to know … Read more “Times 26859 – more than a couple of gems”
Quick Cryptic 942 by Mara
The usual mix from Mara of some very straightforward stuff to help newcomers get some early runs on the board, and some trickier fare that is more at the 15×15 level. Which, all in all, … Read more “Quick Cryptic 942 by Mara”
Times Quick Cryptic 941 by Izetti
Thanks to Izetti for a puzzle which I found surprisingly accessible today – until a small stutter in the NE and then loi 16ac. Even then the clue clearly indicated an anagram and with all … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic 941 by Izetti”
Times Cryptic 26858
My intermittent run of bad solving times continues with this one on which I spent 90 minutes and failed to complete without resorting to aids although there was only one answer that defeated me. And … Read more “Times Cryptic 26858”