Solving time: 33 minutes, not helped by having BACKSTAB at 5ac for much of the solve. Otherwise there’s nothing particularly difficult here despite the odd MER or two as detailed below. As usual definitions are … Read more “Times Cryptic 27596”
Month: February 2020
Times Quick Cryptic 1556 by Orpheus
Not my best form, judging by the ‘doh’ count – not least LOI 9ac which I realised I’d known all along. So a longish 13 minutes with lots to enjoy, including COD 13ac but also … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic 1556 by Orpheus”
QC 1555 by Teazel
A very interesting puzzle today from Teazel. It had very few of those usual staples of a QC, anagrams and hidden words. I could see only two full anagrams (plus one where an anagram was … Read more “QC 1555 by Teazel”
Times 27595 – Not too fishy….
No time tonight – solved while watching golf on TV. If you do a puzzle intermitently, you tend not to notice if it’s easy or hard, unless it’s very hard, in which case you have … Read more “Times 27595 – Not too fishy….”
Sunday Times 4890 by Robert Price – ouch!
36:54. An absolute stinker from Bob this week. I had most of it done within about 15 minutes but I was left with two or three unsolved in the NW, NE and SW corners and … Read more “Sunday Times 4890 by Robert Price – ouch!”
Mephisto 3103 – Don Manley
Fun puzzle this one, with some juicy wordplay. My favorite part of Mephisto is finding new words from clever wordplay, and this puzzle had a lot of that. 9 down took me back, with the … Read more “Mephisto 3103 – Don Manley”
Times Cryptic No 27588 – Saturday, 15 February 2020. Done like a dinner.
Another Saturday puzzle easy to finish over lunch, but full of delightful clues. FOI was 4dn, which jumped off the page, followed by 1ac as soon as I read the clue. As a clear sign … Read more “Times Cryptic No 27588 – Saturday, 15 February 2020. Done like a dinner.”
Times Cryptic Jumbo 1424: If A Good Walk’s Worth Spoiling, It’s Worth Spoiling Twice
A mostly straightforward, economically clued jumbo but none the worse for it. Thanks setter! I particularly liked 24ac, 32ac, 52ac and the very cute 2dn. Any favourites from the floor? ACROSS 1 Supporters, British, stopping … Read more “Times Cryptic Jumbo 1424: If A Good Walk’s Worth Spoiling, It’s Worth Spoiling Twice”
Quick Cryptic 1554 by Breadman
So 8 minutes for me. Compound anagrams are the theme of the day, plus some well-disguised hidden words. LOI 11 ac, which I spent an age staring at for no good reason. Overthinking it again, … Read more “Quick Cryptic 1554 by Breadman”
This Month’s Puzzles Sponsored By The 9D Group
Well this was an awful lot of fun, and I really don’t mind the Times setters taking backhanders from a certain fixtures and fastenings company if the extra cash helps them produce puzzles of this … Read more “This Month’s Puzzles Sponsored By The 9D Group”