This took me a leisurely 19 minutes, having started without delay with the long 1a and 1d to make it flow smoothly. I suspect there will be some single figure times as even I found … Read more “Times 27249 – One for the record?”
Month: January 2019
Quick Cryptic 1267 by Orpheus
I stared for an age at my LOI 22ac, as I was playing around with ‘c’ (start of concert), ‘r’ (right) and some sort of word reversal (back). And I had a mistake at 17ac … Read more “Quick Cryptic 1267 by Orpheus”
Times Cryptic 27248
Solving time: 33 minutes. I found this easy but there are a couple of moderately obscure bits of knowledge required which I happened to know without giving them much thought. Others may not be so … Read more “Times Cryptic 27248”
Times Quick Cryptic 1266 by Izetti
Izetti is at his gentlest today. Even with an unnecessary mix-up in the NE (caused by loi 11ac) this took me 8:45. A good spattering of anagrams, double definitions and homophones helped make this fun … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic 1266 by Izetti”
Times 27247 – “…and you’ve been caught!”
Time: 27 minutesMusic: The Royal Ballet, Gala Performances, Ansermet I don’t like to be too critical, but this was a rather unsatisfactory puzzle. Some of the clues were a bit on the forced side, and … Read more “Times 27247 – “…and you’ve been caught!””
QC 1265 by Teazel
Thank you for all the good wishes for my mother who is still recovering in hospital after her New Year fall. Once again I am writing this in a hurry before going to keep up … Read more “QC 1265 by Teazel”
Jumbo 1360 (New Year’s Day)
Hope everyone made it through the holiday season and safely arrived, bursting with rude health, into 2019. I was given an interesting present – a poster containing the entirety of Hamlet. Granted, the font size … Read more “Jumbo 1360 (New Year’s Day)”
Mephisto 3045 – Paul McKenna
I found this puzzle to be on the easier side of the Mephisto spectrum. There’s not that many obscure words, and a few science references that fell right into my wheelhouse. The grid is generous … Read more “Mephisto 3045 – Paul McKenna”
Sunday Times 4832 by Jeff Pearce
7:34. No problems this week: nothing too obscure in either definitions or wordplay, the odd minor query here and there but a fun puzzle with some nice touches. Definitions are underlined, anagrams indicated like (THIS)*, … Read more “Sunday Times 4832 by Jeff Pearce”
Times Cryptic Jumbo No 1359 – Never Hold Discussions With The Monkey
Alright, so this was a really good specimen of a Times Jumbo, with wit aplenty and some genuine laugh-out-loud moments. I know some martinets disapprove of drug references in their crosswords, but I was very … Read more “Times Cryptic Jumbo No 1359 – Never Hold Discussions With The Monkey”