Today I will be doing something that I have never done in my six years of blogging, namely, offering advice to the setters and the editor. This is something that I am loath to do, … Read more “Times 27025 – Lessons to Learn”
Month: April 2018
Times Quick Cryptic 1080 by Teazel
I needed 17 minutes to complete this, held up by a few things bordering on the obscure. On edit, perhaps I should have said ‘bordering on the obscure even in the main puzzle, but definitely … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic 1080 by Teazel”
Mephisto 3008 – Tim Moorey
Some GK required for this one: ski resort; Greek island; school attended by UK politician; Chicago railway; old film star. Most curious is the docked US town for which there are several candidates, whilst a … Read more “Mephisto 3008 – Tim Moorey”
Sunday Times 4795 by David McLean
A pleasant, fairly gentle puzzle from Harry this week with some nice twists and sleights of hand. I particularly enjoyed the neat construction of 10ac with the Ts removed from two words, and the excellent … Read more “Sunday Times 4795 by David McLean”
Jumbo 1318
Sorry for the slight delay in posting this – I was going to set it to post automatically early this morning but other tasks intervened. Apologies for any errors due to haste. Nothing to quibble … Read more “Jumbo 1318”
Times Cryptic No 27018 – Saturday, 21 April 2018. A classic beauty – but don’t give me flowers!
I think that barring some quibbles this is the best Saturday puzzle I have had the privilege of blogging. Clue after clue was a gem of the setter’s art. Sadly, it was beyond my abilities … Read more “Times Cryptic No 27018 – Saturday, 21 April 2018. A classic beauty – but don’t give me flowers!”
Times 27,023: And May There Be No Moaning Of The Bar
I’m running late this morning but have a quickie. This seemed like a fun puzzle from a setter who was really enjoying themselves – a quick scan down my parsings reminds me of numerous “cryptic … Read more “Times 27,023: And May There Be No Moaning Of The Bar”
Times Quick Cryptic No 1079 by Izetti
Another lovely puzzle from Izetti today. This one took a bit of work to crack with one or two clues rather more devious than the usual QC affair, but there are enough relatively easy ones … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic No 1079 by Izetti”
Times 27015 – first TCC qualifier published 18 April – it’s 26 across.
These qualifiers tend not to be too tricky as presumably the organisers want to encourage entries and check out times rather than put people off. This was no exception and I had all but 16a … Read more “Times 27015 – first TCC qualifier published 18 April – it’s 26 across.”
Times Quick Cryptic No 1078 by Mara
Tricky enough one today, I found, taking me nearly four minutes over my target ten – as a comparison, I did yesterday’s immediately before this and came in two minutes under. Not my finest performance: … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic No 1078 by Mara”