27:36. A blinder of a puzzle from Dean this week. Tough, but very enjoyable. Loads of great clues in here but without doubt 17dn is the pick of the bunch for me. Brilliant! So thank … Read more “Sunday Times 4904 by Dean Mayer”
Month: May 2020
Mephisto 3117 – Paul McKenna. Top row dreamin’
Greetings all, hope you are staying safe and sane. North Carolina moved into Phase 2 this week and though I think it is a little early, I have disappeared to a nearby town to hole … Read more “Mephisto 3117 – Paul McKenna. Top row dreamin’”
Times Cryptic No 27672 – Saturday, 23 May 2020.
This was fairly easy for a Saturday. It was distinguished by some very clever anagram indicators that took me time to see, and some clever usages I had to look at twice. LOI was 9ac, … Read more “Times Cryptic No 27672 – Saturday, 23 May 2020.”
Times Cryptic Jumbo 1440 – 16th May. BFG
Hello everyone. I hope you are well. A gentle giant, perfect for a dozy blogger, and I hope you enjoyed it too. Thanks to the setter. Definitions are underlined in the clues below. In the … Read more “Times Cryptic Jumbo 1440 – 16th May. BFG”
Quick Cryptic 1624 by Wurm
Super-straightforward today. 8 minutes for me as a clean sweep. Slight pause at 23ac, but otherwise straight through. Across 1 Distributing stern notices brings penitence (12) CONTRITENESS – anagram (‘distributing’) of STERN NOTICES 8 Tramp … Read more “Quick Cryptic 1624 by Wurm”
Times 27,677: Put Through Our Paces
No complaints from me at all this Friday, though perhaps I have been softened up by being 7.4 miles away from 1dn as the birdman flies, as I type (or perhaps 5dn?) this. Great crossword … Read more “Times 27,677: Put Through Our Paces”
Times Quick Cryptic No 1623 by Oink
A nicely accessible puzzle from Oink, which took me 14 minutes to complete. I had to write the anagrist down before seeing the answer at 10a, but otherwise it was all plain sailing, if slightly … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic No 1623 by Oink”
Times 27676 – where a factotum meets a teetotaller
Time taken: 12:58, but with one very silly typo. What a difference a day makes? Yesterday was a biff-fest that led to my fastest time ever, today was a day where many of the answers … Read more “Times 27676 – where a factotum meets a teetotaller”
Times 27675 – what the doctor ordered.
I thought this was a pleasant middle of the road puzzle, not quite as ‘vanilla’ as last Wednesday’s (which some of you thought was more Neapolitan than vanilla). There are some unusual words – a … Read more “Times 27675 – what the doctor ordered.”
Times Quick Cryptic No 1622 by Joker
Introduction 15:59. Took longer than I’d hoped to but got tangled on 8 Down and 9 Across, where I had a wrong letter at first so nothing made sense. A hearty, enjoyable challenge. Solutions Across … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic No 1622 by Joker”