I needed 52 minutes for this one but I can’t really identify many particular problems. I was slow to start and took rather a long time to work out the answer at 2dn as my … Read more “Times Cryptic 27218”
Month: December 2018
Times Quick Cryptic 1241 by Joker
I seem to have made heavy weather of the last few QCs so it was a relief that today’s flew in. 6:16 is very quick for me. 6dn and 21ac were the last to drop … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic 1241 by Joker”
Times 27217 – Race against the cloche?
I have said it before and no doubt I will say it again, but this was a very Mondayish type of puzzle, offering much to biffers and erudite personages alike. If a little too sciency … Read more “Times 27217 – Race against the cloche?”
Times Quick Cryptic 1240 by Rongo
I needed 16 minutes for this one, prevented from achieving my 10-minute target by delays in SE corner where the answers at 17ac, 20ac and LOI 15dn did not immediately spring to mind. I shall … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic 1240 by Rongo”
Mephisto 3040 by 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 3040 by Don Manley”
Sunday Times Cryptic No. 4827, by Dean Mayer — Boxing Day?
I didn’t notice while working it last week, but this puzzle has a large number (13!) of enclosure clues. As usual, I went through this in no great haste, taking time to stop and savor … Read more “Sunday Times Cryptic No. 4827, by Dean Mayer — Boxing Day?”
Times Cryptic No 27210 – Saturday, 01 December 2018. Ah, the good old days!
There might have been a bit of a retro feel to this puzzle. Old scientists, old literature, old poets, old playwrights. I liked the fact that the several such that I didn’t know were gettable … Read more “Times Cryptic No 27210 – Saturday, 01 December 2018. Ah, the good old days!”
Jumbo 1353
Nothing exceptional in this one – a steady solve. If I had to choose a favourite clue I think it would either be 57A or 3D. Across 1 RECORD-BREAKER – double definition, the second slightly … Read more “Jumbo 1353”
Times 27,215: No W, Jose
This crossword, unless I’ve seriously dropped the ball, is a NONGRAM, but that didn’t stop it from being brilliant, with it being quite hard to discern the location of the definition part in a vast … Read more “Times 27,215: No W, Jose”
Times Quick Cryptic No 1239 by Pedro
A nicely constructed and teasing puzzle with lovely surfaces from Pedro today, with several clues which made me stop and think a bit…. 3a describes what I had to do nicely! Largely it was due … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic No 1239 by Pedro”