I’m here in a cameo appearance today, filling in for william_j_s, who is on holidays. Good luck to him. My usual beat is the Saturday Cryptic, where I have a week to do the blog, … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic No 1067 by Orpheus – Wed, 11 April 2018. A flying visit.”
Month: April 2018
Times 27009 – aarrr, Jim lad, avast ye!
What larks! Three quarters of this little beauty done in under fifteen minutes, with occasional recourse to a sip of the grog. The north-west corner was looking odd, with a two-letter word ending in V … Read more “Times 27009 – aarrr, Jim lad, avast ye!”
Times Cryptic 27008
A little on the tricky side at times but there were enough straightforward clues here to provide checkers to help with the more difficult ones. I completed the grid with everything parsed in 38 minutes. As usual … Read more “Times Cryptic 27008”
Times Quick Cryptic 1066 by Flamande
We are used to references from setters based on times of year/seasons. It would be interesting to know if setters are aware of which number their puzzle will be allocated. I suspect not as I … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic 1066 by Flamande”
QC 1065 by Teazel
Last time I was sitting in this seat I referred to the little game that the crossword gods seem to play with us when the mood takes them where they taunt us with answers that … Read more “QC 1065 by Teazel”
Times 27007
Time: 35 minutesMusic: Brahms, Violin Concerto, Kogan/Kondrashin Despite my reasonable time, I suspect this was a difficult puzzle. There were many obscurities you need to know, especially in the clues where both the literals and … Read more “Times 27007”
Mephisto 3005 – Tim Moorey
Another different sized grid, and another theme… of looking for April Fools in the grid. It took some searching, but the hint that 14 across was relevant got me there. There are two cuckoos hidden … Read more “Mephisto 3005 – Tim Moorey”
Sunday Times 4792 by David McLean – cryptic boogaloo
8:31. This was a pretty straightforward puzzle, but a lot of fun to solve. Lots of great clues but 3dn is a particular highlight. So many thanks to Harry, and here’s how I think it … Read more “Sunday Times 4792 by David McLean – cryptic boogaloo”
Times Cryptic Jumbo No 1314 (24/3/18): You’re The One For Me, Tbilisi
Elegant is the first word that springs to mind to describe this appealing Jumbo, which I rattled through inside of a quarter hour, that is to say about 1.5 Jasons. First-Ones-In 16ac and 17ac in … Read more “Times Cryptic Jumbo No 1314 (24/3/18): You’re The One For Me, Tbilisi”
Times Cryptic No 27000 – Saturday, 31 March 2018. Crossword 27K day.
Some were forecasting a special showing for this millennial puzzle No. 27,000, but as far as I can see it’s business as usual, unlike the Verlaine special No. 26,999 the day before. It took me … Read more “Times Cryptic No 27000 – Saturday, 31 March 2018. Crossword 27K day.”