17:15. A corker of a puzzle from Dean this week. One of those that seem quite hard at the time, but look entirely simple and obvious when you go back and look at the clues … Read more “Sunday Times 4870 by Dean Mayer”
Month: October 2019
Mephisto 3083 – Tim Moorey
Another tricky Mephisto, particularly near the end. I didn’t do myself any favours by being convinced that SAGEST was the correct answer at 31 across. With the Mephisto, since the definitions can be verified in … Read more “Mephisto 3083 – Tim Moorey”
Times Cryptic No 27468- Saturday, 28 September 2019.
This was a bit of a tester, but I very much liked that the things I didn’t know, like the meaning of 10ac and the second bird at 21ac, were things to look up later … Read more “Times Cryptic No 27468- Saturday, 28 September 2019.”
Times Cryptic Jumbo No 1402 – 21st September
I think this may be the hardest Jumbo we’ve had for a while – well I certainly found it testing, taking about twice my usual time of 45 minutes as I struggled with some of … Read more “Times Cryptic Jumbo No 1402 – 21st September”
Quick Cryptic 1454 by Alfie
This one was fun, and a pangram no less, which helped when I was staring at 2dn and realised I still needed a Q. A good range of difficulty, 11 min for me. Across 7 … Read more “Quick Cryptic 1454 by Alfie”
Times 27,473: Dah It All
Despite some in my opinion overly simple clues for the day of the week, I was going to give this puzzle a Friday passing grade based on quite a few fun clues – one man’s … Read more “Times 27,473: Dah It All”
Times Quick Cryptic No 1453 by Trelawney
I found this fairly easy with a rare sub-10m solve, so I expect to see some very quick times recorded. After seeing the letters X, Z and K in the first few answers, I suspected … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic No 1453 by Trelawney”
Times 27472 – selling sea shells by the seashore
Solving time: 10:50, with a fair chunk of that on my last two. Although this is a little faster than my average time, the usual early quick solvers have taken a bit longer than usual. … Read more “Times 27472 – selling sea shells by the seashore”
Times 27471 – Thick as a parrot.
A jolly puzzle of moderate difficulty, a little risqué at times, good for biffing and with a few clues a bit more tricky to explain. Some nice smooth surfaces, notably 17a, 20a, 28a. FOI was … Read more “Times 27471 – Thick as a parrot.”
Times Quick Cryptic No 1452 by Pedro
Introduction This one took me 15 minutes, but that doesn’t tell the whole story. I was done after only eight minutes, except for three clues in the upper-right corner: 9 Across, 11 Across, and 5 … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic No 1452 by Pedro”