Quirky, economical clueing here in this puzzle; nothing too obscure but much to admire in this fine example of the setter’s art. I had the right side completed quickly with a couple of blanks on … Read more “Times 26853 – spare me the German poets please, but sue the French by all means.”
Month: October 2017
Quick Cryptic 937 by Flamande
I worked my way through this one relatively easily until I was just left with 23ac, which took me an absolute age to see (I spent longer on this one clue than the rest of … Read more “Quick Cryptic 937 by Flamande”
Times Cryptic 26852
I may have made heavy weather of this one because I took exactly an hour to complete it, but on reflection, when I came to write the blog it all seemed straightforward. As usual definitions are … Read more “Times Cryptic 26852”
Times Quick Cryptic 936 by Teazel
Steady going through this one with several obvious definitions (biffable) but then the usual hold ups towards the end. No particular vocabulary issues and the French composer is well known. Struggled with 20ac in order … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic 936 by Teazel”
Times 26851 – What do they sell at record shows? Reports?
Time: 48 minutesMusic: Stan Getz, Sweet Rain My time was not very good on this one. Most of it was pretty easy, but there were a few tricky clues, and I had a wrong word. … Read more “Times 26851 – What do they sell at record shows? Reports?”
Quick Cryptic 935 by Orpheus
I don’t know whether setters get to choose their own grids or if they’re allocated them in rotation, but this is a helpful grid for solvers as almost all of the answers’ initial letters are … Read more “Quick Cryptic 935 by Orpheus”
Mephisto 2979 – Paul McKenna
I tried twice to solve this without a dictionary handy, once over a coffee early on Sunday morning, and then on a plane heading to New York City, where I am now with the online … Read more “Mephisto 2979 – Paul McKenna”
Sunday Times 4766 by Jeff Pearce
First, thanks very much to Keriothe for covering for me last week whilst I was swanning around in some very remote parts of Greece having a blast. I had a quick squiz at last Sunday’s … Read more “Sunday Times 4766 by Jeff Pearce”
TIMES JUMBO 1286
Here we go again. I’d say we were in straightforward / average territory here as this took me 50 minutes across two sessions. First in was IN ARREARS, last was HAUL OFF. Across 1 RUMBUSTIOUS – … Read more “TIMES JUMBO 1286”
Times Cryptic No 26844 – Saturday 30 September 2017. Slow and steady.
For me this puzzle was a delight! No impossible clues, very few “gimme”s, and most hard enough to challenge. I expect the all-star solvers will find it easy, and the journeymen will get there at … Read more “Times Cryptic No 26844 – Saturday 30 September 2017. Slow and steady.”