Solving time: 14:11… but when I hit submit, even though I thought I have checked it over, I made not one, not two, but three very silly errors in the puzzle! Must be playing with … Read more “Times 27292 – fool me three times!”
Month: March 2019
Times 27291 – no more pancakes for a while, please.
A reasonably easy challenge today, with three straightforward but chunky anagrams to get you well on the way. It helped, but wasn’t essential, if you knew the playwright (wasn’t the film director) and your duck … Read more “Times 27291 – no more pancakes for a while, please.”
Times Quick Cryptic No 1302 by Felix
A rare DNF (“did not finish”) for me: I had LESLIE for 7 Down and SPECTRE for 21 Across. Rather silly mistakes, but I was demoralized/demoralised by what felt like rather heavy UK-centric content. Whenever … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic No 1302 by Felix”
Times Cryptic 27290
My solving time was 33 minutes, so on the easy side but nevertheless a technical DNF for me as I gave up on my LOI at 1dn and resorted to aids. As usual definitions are … Read more “Times Cryptic 27290”
Times Quick Cryptic 1301 by Breadman
I breezed through this one (just over 7 minutes is fast for me) so quickly that I didn’t notice some of the intricacies of the word play. Having now gone through the blog I think … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic 1301 by Breadman”
Times 27289 – The Silver Fox meets Bobby Moore
Well, almost. It’s amazing what setters can get into a crossword if they try hard enough, or if the solver looks hard enough. Today, for example, we have Booby Moore (who was ‘Born Barking’ – … Read more “Times 27289 – The Silver Fox meets Bobby Moore”
Times Quick Cryptic 1300 by Tracy
Solving time: 9 minutes. I think this is mostly straightforward, with only one meaning of a word unknown to me, but less experienced solvers may find it takes some unravelling. As usual definitions are underlined … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic 1300 by Tracy”
Mephisto 3052 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 3052 Don Manley”
Sunday Times Cryptic 4839, 24 February 2019, by David McLean — PROTESTERS below the CONDO
Besides the somewhat obscure word at 10 that is partly clued by an equally obscure definition, this was pretty straightforward. I know my headline is stretching the actual facts of the grid, but it’s the … Read more “Sunday Times Cryptic 4839, 24 February 2019, by David McLean — PROTESTERS below the CONDO”
Times subscriptions
I’m starting this thread in case others have received a letter as I did this morning (Saturday 2 March) effectively doubling the cost of my subscription to The Times from next month. Update Monday 4th … Read more “Times subscriptions”