Well, that was a breeze. I was finished in about 30 minutes, which for me rates as a gentle canter. Perhaps they decided to give the rest of us a bit of a break, while … Read more “Times Cryptic No 27186 – Saturday, 03 November 2018. Better the devil you know.”
Month: November 2018
Times Jumbo 1349: At A Fair Clip
Easiest Jumbo *I’ve* done in a while, certainly, proving all done and dusted in 12 minutes. Most of the definition parts led to exactly what you I expected them to, and were quickly substantiated by … Read more “Times Jumbo 1349: At A Fair Clip”
Times 27,191: Mesopotamia
An interesting Friday offering, with an unfussy approach that on occasions seemed only a hair above the difficulty level of the Quick Cryptic, but managed nevertheless to confound and deceive with little clever touches throughout. … Read more “Times 27,191: Mesopotamia”
Times Quick Cryptic No 1219 by Izetti
A lovely puzzle from Izetti today, as always, with plenty of wit and inventiveness in the clueing and neat surfaces. Although I finished in an average time for me, I needed to keep my thinking … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic No 1219 by Izetti”
Times Quick Cryptic No 1218 by Hurley
With about nine-and-a-half minutes on the clock and just 12d left to get, I’d say this was about bang on average difficulty, but a carelessly bunged in wrong ending at 17ac saw fit to my … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic No 1218 by Hurley”
Times Cryptic No 27190, Thursday, 8 November 2018 Second Wave
Not too much to frighten the horses in this one, though a Czech play and a much-loved (by those of a certain age and disposition) comedian might cause a few scratch marks to appear on … Read more “Times Cryptic No 27190, Thursday, 8 November 2018 Second Wave”
Times 27189 – more of a cat’s breakfast.
I enjoyed this one. It has some novel wordplay, only two anagrams, a couple of cats, no obscure antelopes or plants, a bit of French geography, and a reference to one of my favourite bands. … Read more “Times 27189 – more of a cat’s breakfast.”
Quick Cryptic 1217 by Orpheus
I suspect this will be another puzzle rated too hard by many. I thought I’d got lucky with some half-remembered vocabulary, along with trusting the wordplay where my ignorance was exposed, but ended up with … Read more “Quick Cryptic 1217 by Orpheus”
Times Cryptic 27188
My solving time was off the scale and it was well past an hour when I got to my final two missing answers at 16dn and 24dn. By that stage I had completely run out … Read more “Times Cryptic 27188”
Times Quick Cryptic 1216 by Howzat
Well, that was fun. I finished just shy of 14 minutes which would indicate a difficult QC in any case, but I’m now looking forward to writing the blog to piece together the many bits … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic 1216 by Howzat”