There were no “meh” moments, just much merriment. I particularly liked the definitions so well hidden in plain sight for 1A, !0A and 21A. Definitions elsewhere were sneaky in other ways (“School of note”). I … Read more “Sunday Times Cryptic 4841, 10 March 2019, by David McLean — A barking good puzzle!”
Month: March 2019
Times Cryptic No 27294 – Saturday, 09 March 2019. Show me the money.
Welcome, travellers. This puzzle will take us through Germany, Italy, Bulgaria, and a Pacific island, on our way to South America. We’ll need lots of foreign money! The puzzle wasn’t particularly hard, but featured lots … Read more “Times Cryptic No 27294 – Saturday, 09 March 2019. Show me the money.”
Times Cryptic Jumbo 1369: I Bless The Rains Down In Africa
A gentle giant, this one, that I tore through in not much more than the time it would take to do a toughish 15×15. Lots to enjoy though, with some very chucklesome surfaces (5ac, 4dn) … Read more “Times Cryptic Jumbo 1369: I Bless The Rains Down In Africa”
Times Quick Cryptic No 1309 by Mara
A typically neat and entertaining puzzle from Mara today. Nothiing too difficult, I think, but I’m sure you will correct me if you found it otherwise; some may find 22A and 3D a bit of … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic No 1309 by Mara”
Times 27,299: Got A Gridful Of Clues, It’s Dark And We’re Wearing Sunglasses. Hit It!
I was straight off to the races on this charming, pangrammatic but not particularly Fridayish puzzle, hitting the submit button a shade after the 5 minute mark as the answer to 5ac finally swam into … Read more “Times 27,299: Got A Gridful Of Clues, It’s Dark And We’re Wearing Sunglasses. Hit It!”
Times Quick Cryptic No 1308 by Rongo
Gentle enough from Rongo today. I did Tuesday’s not-too-tricky QC just beforehand, took about 14 minutes, and did this in a bit under half that. Missed three of the acrosses on the first read through: … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic No 1308 by Rongo”
Cryptic No 27298 Thursday, 14 March 2019 Va, pensiero, sull’ali dorate
I found this quite sticky and, even allowing for time taken to lovingly extract the full measure of each clue (except the troublesome 27 across), my 32.48 is unlikely to set the world on fire. … Read more “Cryptic No 27298 Thursday, 14 March 2019 Va, pensiero, sull’ali dorate”
Times 27297 – For Romeo lovers, bird lovers and dog lovers.
Starting at 1a, I sped through the top half then lower left of this one on a PB schedule, then the opposite of 13d happened. I slowed down to cope with a couple of unknown … Read more “Times 27297 – For Romeo lovers, bird lovers and dog lovers.”
Times Quick Cryptic 1307 by Hurley
Anagrams abound, which makes for an accessible grid. And nothing really obscure either (except possibly 8ac and 4dn), so I hope to see some satisfied customers today. There are some nice, cryptic-y, sideways definitions to … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic 1307 by Hurley”
Times Cryptic 27296
I found this rather tricky and needed 47 minutes to complete it, but it was enormously enjoyable with a number of very inventive devices and an inspired cryptic clue at 22ac that made me laugh. As … Read more “Times Cryptic 27296”