So here we go for the much anticipated, it felt like it would never arrive, election day! I hope that, as for Christmas, you get what you wished for. This lovely puzzle from Tracy shouldn’t … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic No 1503 by Tracy”
Month: December 2019
Times 27532 – it’s mixed-up opera week!
Time taken: 17:22. I found this one really difficult, and in the end I’m not going to be the biggest fan because (as happened yesterday) there are titles and proper nouns clued as anagrams. I … Read more “Times 27532 – it’s mixed-up opera week!”
Times 27531 – Being furious in Florida
I whipped through this in 20 minutes, parsing some afterwards, coming to a halt with just 9d to finish. Playing around with the seven unchecked letters of the anagram yielded a possible or likely answer … Read more “Times 27531 – Being furious in Florida”
Times Quick Cryptic No 1502 by Orpheus
Introduction I was putting my older son to bed while trying this one, so I guess I can blame my poor performance on that, but the truth is that this puzzle really stumped me. I … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic No 1502 by Orpheus”
Times Quick Cryptic 1501 by Hurley
I can’t give a time as I’d just crept to the 10 minute mark with 1ac, 5ac, 11dn and 21ac yet to complete when I was interrupted. I came back to find the timer at … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic 1501 by Hurley”
Times Cryptic 27530
Solving time: Off the scale, and as I start to write my blog I still have at least 4 clues unparsed so we shall see what develops along the way. Edit later: I got all … Read more “Times Cryptic 27530”
Times 27529 – Mother and Father of Mondays
For those looking for a gentle reintroduction to the art of solving after losing a brain cell or two at Times HQ or in the George, this was a nigh-on perfect puzzle. One or two … Read more “Times 27529 – Mother and Father of Mondays”
Times Quick Cryptic 1500 by Juno
My solving time was 10 minutes. A rare appearance by Juno marks Quick Cryptic 1500 and is only her (?) 9th puzzle to date*. There is a number-related Nina which I shan’t reveal until the very end of … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic 1500 by Juno”
Times Crosswords Championships Discussion Thread
I was tied up all of yesterday, so I wasn’t able to follow what was going on too closely. I see that Mark Goodliffe has won again, and that some of our bloggers and former … Read more “Times Crosswords Championships Discussion Thread”
Mephisto 3092 – Tim Moorey
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. 16A … Read more “Mephisto 3092 – Tim Moorey”