No obvious hidden themes this week, after the excitement of my last blog. This did though have a decidedly retro feel to it, with answers like 8, 10, 17, 18 across and 5, 6, 7, … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic No 1143 by Mara”
Month: July 2018
Times 27100 – definitely not 4 across!
Addendum: I’m sorry I did not include my own time, which was 25:40. I am usually in the 9-14 minute range, so this was a long way from my typical time. It also appears to … Read more “Times 27100 – definitely not 4 across!”
Times 27099 – Doh, it’s not Scottish, for once.
Never a dull moment in this cracking puzzle, I thought, the best I’ve had to grapple with on a Wednesday for a while. Nothing too obscure, and some smiles here and there. It took me … Read more “Times 27099 – Doh, it’s not Scottish, for once.”
Times Quick Cryptic No 1142 by Joker
[Whiskey: Weller Bourbon, Special Reserve] After being stumped by 1 and 7 Across, I thought I was perhaps in for a difficult puzzle. Quod non, as I was then able to put in every answer … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic No 1142 by Joker”
Times Cryptic 27098
I needed about an hour for this one but I’m not exactly sure why as most of it was quite straightforward. As usual definitions are underlined in bold italics, {deletions and substitutions are in curly … Read more “Times Cryptic 27098”
Times Quick Cryptic 1141 by Teazel
A pleasant puzzle from Teazel which had points of interest – I was misled by the definitions in 7dn and loi 12dn and dnk 4ac – but there were always easy ones to fill in … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic 1141 by Teazel”
Times 27097 – Year of the Depend Adult Undergarment
This bright and breezy, somewhat prototypical Monday offering took me 27 minutes, doing my NITCH no harm at all = not that I care or follow that type of thing very closely at all. Sometimes … Read more “Times 27097 – Year of the Depend Adult Undergarment”
Times Quick Cryptic 1140 by Izetti
I completed within my 10 minute target, but only just as some of it was quite hard. I must have read nearly 10 clues before finding one that I could solve with certainty but once I … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic 1140 by Izetti”
Mephisto 3020 – Tim Moorey and a very helpful non-smug blogger
Last time I wrote one of these blogs George and I were subjected to a rant about how smug and unhelpful we were by an anonymous contributor who was unable to use Chambers to look … Read more “Mephisto 3020 – Tim Moorey and a very helpful non-smug blogger”
Sunday Times Cryptic 4807, by David McLean—Idiomatic for the People
Shall we count the UKisms? The idiom that answers 2 down (my FOI), as well as MCC in the clue; the two “T”s in ACTUATE (which are why this was my LOI); BISH for “mistake”; … Read more “Sunday Times Cryptic 4807, by David McLean—Idiomatic for the People”