Introduction 13:06, keeping with my new tradition of doing 2-3 times worse on my blog days than on other days. Solid puzzle. Postscript: After completing the blog, I realize there are many many many double … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic No 1662 by Mara”
Month: July 2020
Times Cryptic 27722
A substantial defeat for me on this one. I managed all but four answers in 25 minutes and then after much agonising over the remainder I noticed I had a wrong answer which I corrected … Read more “Times Cryptic 27722”
Times Quick Cryptic 1661 by Hurley
Another fast start to the week – today’s time of 7:57 improving slightly on yesterday’s. All seemed fair play and entertaining as I sailed through. I’ll see if anything comes up as I dissect it … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic 1661 by Hurley”
LJ intrusion
Today when viewing my QC blog I am seeing this between the end of the blog itself and the first comment. It’s very annoying. Is everyone else seeing it too? Interestingly I don’t see it … Read more “LJ intrusion”
Times 27721 – Hello Honky Tonks!
A very pleasant start to the week of crosswords, with a little bit for everyone, especially, perhaps, the astronomer. A particularly good two-word clue, I thought. ‘Unprincipled men are useful, enabling those who have more … Read more “Times 27721 – Hello Honky Tonks!”
Times Quick Cryptic 1660 by Wurm
My solving time was 9 minutes for all but 1ac, which after a further 5 I abandoned hope and resorted to aids as I knew it was a word I would never come up with … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic 1660 by Wurm”
Mephisto 3124 – One for the books
After about half an hour, with only a third of the grid filled in, I realized I’d have to bring in Chambers fairly early on. There is some tricky stuff here, and some obscure words … Read more “Mephisto 3124 – One for the books”
Sunday Times Cryptic No 4911 by Robert Price — DIVERSIONARY tactics
Nothing very exotic here, though I wasn’t sure when working this that I’d ever seen, let alone eaten, a DRUPE (turns out this is a kind of fruit, not a specific variety). Some of the … Read more “Sunday Times Cryptic No 4911 by Robert Price — DIVERSIONARY tactics”
Times Cryptic No 27714 – Saturday, 11 July 2020. All porkers watered and ready …
… and I too flew through this one, until I reached my LOI, 4dn, which took a bit of an alphabet hunt. I won’t be surprised to see reports of fast times, but everything was … Read more “Times Cryptic No 27714 – Saturday, 11 July 2020. All porkers watered and ready …”
Jumbo 1448
This was a bit of a struggle for me – not really on the compiler’s wavelength I think, but nothing unfair. A couple of cleverly constructed clues (probably 8D being my favourite) and a couple … Read more “Jumbo 1448”