I didn’t dislike this puzzle, but wasn’t enjoying it a lot either; nothing was particularly obscure except 1a which was clear enough from wordplay, but somehow it seemed more like work than fun. I’m not … Read more “Times 27183 – word play and word work”
Month: October 2018
Times Quick Cryptic No 1212 by Mara
Introduction First off, thank you to (almost) everybody for the kind comments about last week’s blog. I hoped it might offer some inspiration to solvers who were struggling to up their game, and it seems … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic No 1212 by Mara”
Times Cryptic 27182
After yesterday’s really easy puzzle (solved by me in 17 minutes!) we have another one today which delayed me only 25 minutes, and 5 of those can probably be accounted for by my being on … Read more “Times Cryptic 27182”
Times Quick Cryptic 1211 by Joker
I found this an interesting and tricky puzzle which I finished in the NW with 1dn then loi 10ac. The letter K makes several appearances and there are some long anagrams. My 13 minutes did … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic 1211 by Joker”
Times 27181 – Nice and easy does it
I’m in a Steinbeck phase at the moment as I make my tour of 20th century American literature, and if there’s anyone out there who has missed him, as I had, then if you like … Read more “Times 27181 – Nice and easy does it”
Times Quick Cryptic 1210 by Breadman
My solving time was 13 minutes with delays in the lower RH corner over 20, 22ac and 22dn. Prior to that it had all been going rather well and I had been well on target to … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic 1210 by Breadman”
Mephisto 3034 – Don Manley
Unless you’re very experienced you are unlikely to solve a Mephisto without using Chambers. The idea is that you use the precise wordplay to derive an answer that you then verify in the dictionary. 1A … Read more “Mephisto 3034 – Don Manley”
Sunday Times Cryptic 4821, by Dean Mayer — Any eyebrows raised?
I enjoyed this a lot. FOI was DESPOIL, then FAIR-AND-SQUARE, and then, from only the Q and the definition, I got SESQUIPEDALIAN, and was well on my way. The only frustrating LOGJAM occurred with my … Read more “Sunday Times Cryptic 4821, by Dean Mayer — Any eyebrows raised?”
Times Cryptic No 27174 – Saturday, 20 October 2018. A whale of a puzzle.
This had some relatively obscure vocabulary, but happily the wordplay generally told us how to spell the answers. So, no complaints on that score here. Now that the clocks have changed, I normally do the … Read more “Times Cryptic No 27174 – Saturday, 20 October 2018. A whale of a puzzle.”
Times Cryptic Jumbo No 1347 – 13th October
This was quite a straightforward Jumbo with only the stew at 55A and the nasty form of torture at 5D being a new words to me. But both were easily derived from checkers and wordplay. … Read more “Times Cryptic Jumbo No 1347 – 13th October”