I thought this was hard but most entertaining – 15ac being worth the price of admission all on its won. I also very much liked 22ac, an audacious word to try to clue at all, … Read more “Monthly Club Special 20,242: Christmas Comes Early”
Month: November 2020
QC 1755 by Breadman
I thought this was just a touch more difficult than the usual Monday morning fare and so I found myself jumping around a bit rather than following the largely sequential course of most recent weeks. … Read more “QC 1755 by Breadman”
Times 27835 – Or the Insular Ionan?
Time: 29 minutesMusic: Ravel, Piano Music, Gieseking This was not quite an easy Monday, but none of the answers were that obscure, and the literals were pretty obvious. Experienced solvers will probably zip through in … Read more “Times 27835 – Or the Insular Ionan?”
Sunday Times 4930 by David McLean – ‘Allo ‘Allo ‘Allo!
DNF. I found this quite hard and ended up with a blank at 1ac. I could see that ‘police’ corresponded to what turned out to be the answer but I couldn’t see anything in the … Read more “Sunday Times 4930 by David McLean – ‘Allo ‘Allo ‘Allo!”
Mephisto 3143 – Tim Moorey
I got pretty bogged down in the bottom left hand quater of this puzzle where I confidently wrote in an alternative (though the spelling I see most often) spelling at 14 down which had me … Read more “Mephisto 3143 – Tim Moorey”
Times Cryptic No 27828 – Saturday, 21 November 2020. On your marks. Get set. Fizz.
As a gentle warm-up for the Online Championships, this should have hit the spot perfectly! I hoped those who tried the championship would have fun, though I wouldn’t be one of you! Neither time zone … Read more “Times Cryptic No 27828 – Saturday, 21 November 2020. On your marks. Get set. Fizz.”
Jumbo 1468
A run of the mill Jumbo, with a couple of words that I have seen in other crosswords, but not elsewhere. I nearly made a silly mistake but a nagging doubt meant that I checked … Read more “Jumbo 1468”
Quick Cryptic 1754 by Margaret and Bob
Right, so what to say about this one. Fairly chewy in places, some not-altogether-straightforward vocabulary, but enjoyable nonetheless. I’m not sure about 1dn, but I expect someone who owns four different dictionaries will provide definitive … Read more “Quick Cryptic 1754 by Margaret and Bob”
Times 27,833: Blue As The Gendarmerie Were The Waves Of The Sea
FOI 12ac, LOI 18dn. I’m assuming this was quite easy as I managed it in 6m after tottering back from a Thanksgiving repast involving plenty and I mean plenty of wine. MER at 9ac as … Read more “Times 27,833: Blue As The Gendarmerie Were The Waves Of The Sea”
Times Quick Cryptic No 1753 by Izetti
Always nice to blog an Izetti, and this was no different. Very little GK required (maybe for 9a, 15a and 19a) and everything fairly clued. The result in my case was 12 minutes of easy … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic No 1753 by Izetti”