This was a very straightworward offering made up mostly of the more obvious clue devices. By my quick reckoning there were four straight anagrams, three of them longer answers, giving a large number of checkers … Read more “QC 1545 by Mara”
Month: February 2020
Times 27583 – A game for Captain Jinks?
Music: Mendelssohn, Scotch Symphony, Gibson/ScNOTime: 29 minutes I can’t really figure out if this was difficult or easy. As I solved, I got the impression that some might find the clues difficult, but that I … Read more “Times 27583 – A game for Captain Jinks?”
Sunday Times 4888 by David McLean
20:40. I have left the blog very late this week (I’m typing this on Saturday evening) so I am short of time and don’t remember much about this puzzle. I obviously found it hard but … Read more “Sunday Times 4888 by David McLean”
Mephisto 3101 – Tim Moorey
I found the definitions more straightforward than the wordplay in this puzzle, which is the opposite of my usual experience with the Mephisto where I work on the wordplay first and then confirm the definition. … Read more “Mephisto 3101 – Tim Moorey”
Times Cryptic No 27576 – Saturday, 01 February 2020. A sadder and a wiser man ….
I think this puzzle was easier than recent Saturdays. I started easily, but then I struggled with 13dn and its crossers – why are foreign language anagram answers so much harder to see? And as … Read more “Times Cryptic No 27576 – Saturday, 01 February 2020. A sadder and a wiser man ….”
Times Cryptic Jumbo No 1422 – 25th January
A rather middle-of-the-road Jumbo today with the usual mixture of straightforward clues and those that need a bit more thought. Nothing too obscure although I had, as usual, a couple of unknowns. A bit of … Read more “Times Cryptic Jumbo No 1422 – 25th January”
Quick Cryptic 1544 by Wurm
I liked this a lot, and I would say it is pitched just right for a QC. Lots of anagrams, but some with a little added complexity. My favourite is 18ac. Across 1 Turn to … Read more “Quick Cryptic 1544 by Wurm”
Times 27,581: Persuasion Equation
A Friday puzzle with a pleasantly old-fashioned feel about it, including the most literary clue we’ve had in ages at 8dn and a number of places where it was necessary to get on the setter’s … Read more “Times 27,581: Persuasion Equation”
Times 27580 – I’m not loving it
Solving time: 15:29, but with one silly typo. I’ve been a bit under the weather lately and I have been making more of these typo errors – according to the Times Club leaderboard, 13 of … Read more “Times 27580 – I’m not loving it”
Times Quick Cryptic No 1543 by Tracy
First of all, my apologies – I may have messed up the posting of today’s blog. If you see this twice, it is entirely my fault. I found this to be on the easier side … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic No 1543 by Tracy”