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. 12A … Read more “Mephisto 3088 – by Don Manley”
Month: November 2019
Sunday Times Cryptic No 4875, 3 XI 2019, by Robert Price — Trilling info from a whistle-blower!
I heartily enjoyed my time with this, which time I, as always, can’t put any number on. I forget what was on my SmartTV last Saturday as I leisurely strolled through the clues, but you … Read more “Sunday Times Cryptic No 4875, 3 XI 2019, by Robert Price — Trilling info from a whistle-blower!”
Times Cryptic No 27498 – Saturday, 02 November 2019. Why is it so?
If you were on song, you might have got through this quickly. For me, it was more like ‘slow but steady’. I finished confident of the answers but with lots of questions to look up. … Read more “Times Cryptic No 27498 – Saturday, 02 November 2019. Why is it so?”
Times Cryptic Jumbo No 1407 – 26th October
Taking just over an hour over two sessions, I found this a little harder than your average Jumbo, with a sprinkling of questionmarks and “check” on my paper copy. 27A, 37A, the spelling at 7D … Read more “Times Cryptic Jumbo No 1407 – 26th October”
Times Quick Cryptic No 1479 by Teazel
A delightful Friday puzzle from Teazel today with some elegant surfaces, witty wordplay and a modicum of trickiness in places, and great fun to blog. It helps if you know your Gilbert & Sullivan operettas, … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic No 1479 by Teazel”
Times 27,503: Divorced, Beheaded, Died, Divorced, Beheaded, Solved
A mostly QC-level Friday puzzle, stuffed with chestnuts and sitters, presumably to give people the necessary confidence to sign up for the Champs next month. Which, to be fair, you all should. Still suffering from … Read more “Times 27,503: Divorced, Beheaded, Died, Divorced, Beheaded, Solved”
Times Quick Cryptic No 1478 by Orpheus
Tough enough from Orpheus today – I found this on a par with Tuesday’s, which I did just before, each taking close to 12 minutes. I managed six of the acrosses on a first read … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic No 1478 by Orpheus”
27502 Thursday, 7 November 2019 The giddy limit
Rather as Sunday’s match between Everton and Tottenham (in truth, a rather dull affair) was overshadowed by a gruesome injury to Everton’s Gomes (one of those where the TV shows no replay), this crossword, a … Read more “27502 Thursday, 7 November 2019 The giddy limit”
Times 27501 – enough already.
I found this an unusual crossword, something of a curate’s egg. Starting with 1a and 1d then 8a with no hesitation, I thought it was going to be a doddle. Then the waters became choppier … Read more “Times 27501 – enough already.”
Times Quick Cryptic 1477 by Mara
Sluggish to get off the ground, but completed in an average time. I was slowed down by clues that ended up seeming rather simple in hindsight; so touché setter. I’m left wondering about ‘you’ in … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic 1477 by Mara”