Slightly more tricky than the average Monday, this took me just shy of 30 minutes. Among some neat clues, my vote for best of the day goes to 6d for the relieved parents. Very nice. … Read more “Times 27253 – Won hondred n yeaty!”
Month: January 2019
Times Quick Cryptic 1270 by Tracy
Solving time: 8 minutes. I thought this one was easy but I stand ready to be corrected. As usual definitions are underlined in bold italics, {deletions and substitutions are in curly brackets} and [anagrinds, containment, … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic 1270 by Tracy”
Mephisto 3046 – 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. 11A … Read more “Mephisto 3046 – Don Manley”
Sunday Times Cryptic 4833, 13 January 2019, by Dean Mayer — Think Twice, It’s All Right
This was an engaging exercise, with some fine, quite deceptive surfaces. The four Double Definitions are not scintillating, but such rarely are (and the last one’s kind of fun), but a few of the Cryptic … Read more “Sunday Times Cryptic 4833, 13 January 2019, by Dean Mayer — Think Twice, It’s All Right”
Times Cryptic No 27246 – Saturday, 12 January 2019. The agony and the ecstasy.
There were some delights here. I loved 10ac and 24dn, but the standout for me was 15dn – the clue of the year so far for me! (That’s a small sample, it’s true.) I spent … Read more “Times Cryptic No 27246 – Saturday, 12 January 2019. The agony and the ecstasy.”
Times Cryptic Jumbo 1361
Happy New Year all. On my barometer I’d say this was of average difficulty although there was one phrase I was totally unfamiliar with and I had to look it up to get it. I … Read more “Times Cryptic Jumbo 1361”
Times Quick Cryptic No 1269 by Joker
A bit of a quirky puzzle from Joker today, I think. It felt like there was almost a theme hidden somewhere, but not quite. A lot of Es Ns and Xs. (Hmm. Have I missed … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic No 1269 by Joker”
Times 27,251: 28ac was a write-in!
An agreeable middle-of-the-road solve, with a few odd elements that resulted in Minor Eyebrow Raise, but mostly entirely enjoyable. 28ac would have been a rather cryptically labour-intensive clue were it not for the fact that … Read more “Times 27,251: 28ac was a write-in!”
Times Quick Cryptic No 1268 by Howzat
I’m feeling about as slow today as johninterred is feeling quick, but I’d still say this was tricky enough – I threw in the towel around the twenty minute mark and clicked on the the … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic No 1268 by Howzat”
Times Cryptic No 27250 Thursday, 17 January 2019 Pick any one of two
There’s rather a pleasant spread of general knowledge in this one in the sense that you probably have most of it knocking around not too far from the surface: places, people, flora, fauna, astronomy and … Read more “Times Cryptic No 27250 Thursday, 17 January 2019 Pick any one of two”