Winter is approaching this side of the globe, and so the crossword now appears in time to tackle, and in this case to finish, before lunch. Joy! I often find the quickest way into a … Read more “Times Cryptic No 27630 – Saturday, 4 April 2020. Back to front.”
Month: April 2020
Times Cryptic Jumbo 1431 – If that bird comes near me I’ll break its neck and your b****y arm.
This puzzle felt quite tricky in places but took about 50 minutes including working out all the parsings so was probably just on the harder side of average, with a goodly amount of GK required … Read more “Times Cryptic Jumbo 1431 – If that bird comes near me I’ll break its neck and your b****y arm.”
O Tempora! CCXXXVI by Basil
By popular demand (of one person) – a popup bonus blog of this weekend’s Latin puzzle. I found this comparatively easy but was finally defeated by having to check 20ac, so a technical DNF (Decus … Read more “O Tempora! CCXXXVI by Basil”
Times Quick Cryptic No 1589 by Pedro
Hello everyone. I hope you are all staying safe. This is going to be a very odd Easter weekend with my elder daughter stranded alone in Portsmouth while the rest of us are at home. … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic No 1589 by Pedro”
Times 27,635: Be Careful What You Wish For
Well, fair do’s, I can’t really claim this was anything other than a Friday puzzle, despite the attempted misdirection in 1ac. TRANCHET crossing with CASSIMERE crossing with TWITE though? These are the kind of shenanigans … Read more “Times 27,635: Be Careful What You Wish For”
Times Quick Cryptic No 1588 by Hurley
A straightforward-enough puzzle, completed a couple of minutes under target. I was slow to see 1ac, for no good reason, and needed all the checkers for 8ac and several checkers for 10ac, but the rest … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic No 1588 by Hurley”
27634 Thursday, 9 April 2020 Uncle Bulgaria Remembers
Cop and robbers turn up in equal measure in this puzzle, and there’s also a barrister in attendance and a former criminal keeping us company. I rather breezed through this after a shaky start, with … Read more “27634 Thursday, 9 April 2020 Uncle Bulgaria Remembers”
Times 27633 – easier to solve than to explain, perhaps.
Phew! that wasn’t too hard to get finished, but deciphering the nitty gritty of my ‘must be that’ answers for the blog took longer than the solving. For some reason I couldn’t get started anywhere … Read more “Times 27633 – easier to solve than to explain, perhaps.”
Times Quick Cryptic 1587 by Tracy
A bit of a harder puzzle than of late, which I solved pretty much bacwards. The left hand side of the grid felt decidedly trickier than the right, and I ended up in the NW … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic 1587 by Tracy”
Times Quick Cryptic 1586 by Trelawney
A quick quickie from Trelawney completed in just 5:35 – probably a PB. I didn’t get 1ac at first pass but a few checkers made it click (and I entered it with a smile). The … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic 1586 by Trelawney”