A lovely little QC this morning from Pedro, taking me less than 10 minutes to solve, so my best time for a while, but full of interesting stuff. Following yesterday’s discussion of first letter abbreviations … Read more “Quick Cryptic No 1023 by Pedro”
Month: February 2018
Times 26955 – Italians, and not the Trump White House (although it’s a idea!)
Another cracking Wednesday puzzle to blog; unravelling some of the parsing took a bit of the oldlateral thinking, although there was plenty of scope for BIFD. [I once heard speak the good Dr de Bono, … Read more “Times 26955 – Italians, and not the Trump White House (although it’s a idea!)”
Quick Cryptic 1022 by Teazel
Not too tricky, but no pushover either – I thought this was a very good QC. In particular I felt it gave newcomers exposure to a number of frequently recurring conventions / tricks of the … Read more “Quick Cryptic 1022 by Teazel”
Times Cryptic 26954
I found this quite tricky and needed 10 minutes over the hour to complete it. No doubt that 10 minutes will have been enough for some to solve the whole puzzle, but as I never … Read more “Times Cryptic 26954”
Times Quick Cryptic 1021 by Izetti
I don’t want to talk anything up here, but there seems to have been a change in the puzzles produced by that once most fearsome of setters – our great friend, Izetti. Time was, when, … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic 1021 by Izetti”
Times 26953 – Great is Truth, and mighty above all things
Being a bear of average brain, I rather like puzzles that are on the easier end of the scale. They make me feel a little brighter, and they reduce my SNITCH, while also reducing the … Read more “Times 26953 – Great is Truth, and mighty above all things”
Times Quick Cryptic 1020 by Flamande
I needed 12 minutes for this but am at a loss to explain why I failed to hit my 10-minute target as it all seems perfectly straightforward in retrospect. There are a few UK-centric references … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic 1020 by Flamande”
Mephisto 2996 – Tim Moorey
I was more on form than I’ve been for a while and romped through this one. It was always interesting and contains some nice clue constructions. In the blog, the definition in the clue is … Read more “Mephisto 2996 – Tim Moorey”
Sunday Times 4783 by David McLean
I thought this was good fun and not too tricky – thoroughly enjoyed it. Some nice laconic touches, particularly with the second rate crossword at 9ac and the happy tale of Lucky Les at 13ac. … Read more “Sunday Times 4783 by David McLean”
Times Cryptic No 26946 – Saturday, 27 January 2018. Everything old is new again.
Well, that was hard. After about two and a half times as long as last week, I finally felt reasonably sure I knew all the answers, but now as I submit the blog five days … Read more “Times Cryptic No 26946 – Saturday, 27 January 2018. Everything old is new again.”