I found several points of interest, which extended my time, in this otherwise eminently biffable puzzle. Mistyping 5dn didn’t help at all, so to still come inside 10 minutes means there were plenty of easy … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic 1731 by Hurley”
Month: October 2020
Times 27805 – Seeing Double
Pretty standard Monday fare, with the odd unusual word (SAKI, the American with the bizarre name) being clued very accessibly. I am currently immersed in Gabriel Garcia Márquez’s work (when not dipping into Zola – … Read more “Times 27805 – Seeing Double”
Times Quick Cryptic 1730 by Teazel
I needed 13 minutes to crack this one and my first reaction on completion was to write ‘hard’ on my print-out, however having written the blog I have no idea what delayed me, as on … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic 1730 by Teazel”
Mephisto 3138 – What the bright dawn scatters
Here we have another fine Mephisto from Paul McKenna, with the usual groaner across the top line. This is the first time I ever used one of these atrocious puns to come up with an … Read more “Mephisto 3138 – What the bright dawn scatters”
Sunday Times Cryptic No 4925 by Dean Mayer — Boffo socko performance!
I hardly ever start with the first clue on these but rather approach them strategically. My virtual FOI (though I happened to see ANI first) was the one long one right down the middle. After … Read more “Sunday Times Cryptic No 4925 by Dean Mayer — Boffo socko performance!”
Times Cryptic No 27798 – Saturday, 17 October 2020. Anyone for badminton?
I would have rated this as middle of the road for a Saturday, until I got hopelessly stuck in the NW corner. It turned out I had never heard of the specific form of the … Read more “Times Cryptic No 27798 – Saturday, 17 October 2020. Anyone for badminton?”
Jumbo 1463
Very straightforward – I did not time myself but I am sure that it was under 20 minutes. There were very few clues that I needed to go back to. I don’t really have any … Read more “Jumbo 1463”
Times Quick Cryptic No 1729 by Felix
A bit of a tester to finish the week from Felix, I think. I was held up at the end by my LOI 1A, not knowing the Dickensian character despite the hint in another clue. … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic No 1729 by Felix”
Times 27,803: Bonkbusted
Some really good clues in this medium-strength puzzle – I liked 1dn, 2dn and 5dn, all of which withheld their shiny pennies from me for a good while, very much, for instance. But none of … Read more “Times 27,803: Bonkbusted”
Times Quick Cryptic No 1728 by Orpheus
I’d say this was pitched at middling difficulty today from Orpheus, but I was held to two minutes over target with a tip-of-the-tongue moment (or two) at 20ac and then a longer pause at the … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic No 1728 by Orpheus”