12:13. A fun puzzle with a clue (12dn) that is pretty much identical to one that appeared in one of Dean’s puzzles that I blogged in March (4892), that was itself almost identical to a … Read more “Dean Mayer 4910 – déjà vu all over again”
Month: July 2020
Mephisto 3123 – Paul McKenna
A step up in difficulty this week, it took me two sessions to put everything together. The pun in the top row was helpful (especially so since one of the words is not in Chambers), … Read more “Mephisto 3123 – Paul McKenna”
Times Cryptic No 27708 – Saturday, 4 July 2020 … when the crossword doing’s dandy!
Typical Saturday fare. Unusually rich in homophones, I thought, and in quaint double definitions (dd). No references as far as I could see to the birthday party across the Atlantic. Thanks to the setter for … Read more “Times Cryptic No 27708 – Saturday, 4 July 2020 … when the crossword doing’s dandy!”
Times Cryptic Jumbo No 1447 – 27th June
I really should write my introduction to my Jumbo blogs while the crossword is fresh in my memory. I see that it took me 44 minutes, which is about average for me, I think. Plenty … Read more “Times Cryptic Jumbo No 1447 – 27th June”
Quick Cryptic 1654 by Wurm
Nice fun puzzle, not too hard. I got tripped up in a couple of places by overcomplicating it. 7 min for me. Across 1 Drunk bringing large snake into bed (9) BLADDERED – L + … Read more “Quick Cryptic 1654 by Wurm”
Times 27,713: Guess Who’s Back, Friday’s Back
Well this was something of a beast, requiring as it did knowledge of sporting argot, classical AND rock music and various foreign tongues to negotiate its pangrammatic wynds. Marvellous stuff though I’m ashamed to admit … Read more “Times 27,713: Guess Who’s Back, Friday’s Back”
Times 27712 – git along
Time taken: 8:49. I made a pretty steady solve through this, but I was surprised to be in fifth place with this time after the puzzle has been out for about two hours, I didn’t … Read more “Times 27712 – git along”
Times Quick Cryptic No 1653 by Des
One of Setter Des’s rare visits, which are invariably welcome. He scores quite high on Jackkt’s League Table of Difficulty (fifth, and just ahead of Izetti), so I expected the worst when I saw his … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic No 1653 by Des”
Times 27711 – Welcome to Nubicuculia, where there’s no social distancing.
I raced through this at first, had the top half more or less done in near record time; then found myself slowing to a crawl over the SW corner, struggling with 24a, 25a and 26a … Read more “Times 27711 – Welcome to Nubicuculia, where there’s no social distancing.”
Times Quick Cryptic No 1652 by Joker
Introduction 16:46, which was disappointing, given that I’ve been on a roll lately with a bunch of sub-8 solves. It’s always harder when it’s your blog! That being said, this one actually seemed quite difficult, … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic No 1652 by Joker”