What, April already? I’d totally forgotten to do this until just now but it was worth the wait, with some LOLsome words from the very darkest corners of the dictionary, and some truly splendiferous cluing, … Read more “Monthly Club Special 20,234: A Daimen-Icker In A Thrave”
Month: March 2020
Times Cryptic 27626
This one took me ages, especially finding an answer to start me off. We’re living through very difficult times when it’s hard to keep one’s head clear and focussed on anything for long so I’m … Read more “Times Cryptic 27626”
Times Quick Cryptic 1581 by Breadman
An excellent QC IMHO. Not just a pangram but a well judged level of clueing which kept me on my toes but still allowed me to come within my tangent 10 minutes (by 6 seconds!). … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic 1581 by Breadman”
Times 27625 – David Duckham Remembered
A gentle start to the week, which took me 15 minutes plus change. Nothing too difficult vocabulary, definition or parsing wise, and the easily misspelt word had the dodgy vowel handed to you on a … Read more “Times 27625 – David Duckham Remembered”
Times Quick Cryptic 1580 by Joker
Time slipped away from me on this one and I needed 14 minutes to complete it, missing my target by 4 minutes. Put it down to the troubled times we are living through, as I … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic 1580 by Joker”
Mephisto 3108 – One up on the court?
I solved this Mephisto in my usual fashion, without book, only to get stuck on one at the end. I saw what it might be, but I was incredulous that such a word could possibly … Read more “Mephisto 3108 – One up on the court?”
Sunday Times Cryptic 4895, by Dean Mayer — Golden archness
I hope everyone here and their loved ones are well and safe. Having a distraction like a good crossword puzzle in a time like this can be a godsend. To tackle a problem for which … Read more “Sunday Times Cryptic 4895, by Dean Mayer — Golden archness”
Times Cryptic No 27618 – Saturday, 21 March 2020. Doubling down on definitions.
I barely finished the horror Friday puzzle by the time Saturday’s reached the web site, so it was a relief this one was solvable! My FIO was 14ac, which was so obviously an anagram. My … Read more “Times Cryptic No 27618 – Saturday, 21 March 2020. Doubling down on definitions.”
Times Cryptic Jumbo 1429: Creepy Crawly Cluey
On the easier side I thought, but not egregiously so. My favourites this time were 26ac for the oldie-but-goodie “Harry” as anagrind; 36dn for being ridiculously hard to parse yet satisfying when I finally did; … Read more “Times Cryptic Jumbo 1429: Creepy Crawly Cluey”
Times Quick Cryptic No 1579 by Hurley
I took quite a bit longer than usual to complete this QC finishing in just under 7 minutes, but we’ve had quite a few head-scratchers already over the last 2 weeks, haven’t we? I had … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic No 1579 by Hurley”