7 minutes for a very enjoyable and quick cryptic. The NW was my only hold up – the rest were in by a remarkable 4-5 minutes. LOI was the long anagram at 3dn where I … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic 1806 by Breadman with a bishy barnabee”
Month: February 2021
Times Cryptic 27896
Solving time: 30 minutes. Mostly straightforward, I believe, so let’s get on with it… As usual definitions are underlined in bold italics, {deletions and substitutions are in curly brackets} and [anagrinds, containment, reversal and other … Read more “Times Cryptic 27896”
QC 1805 by Izetti
Very enjoyable puzzle with quite a few anagrams or anagram elements that were well signposted. One MER at 15D but no doubt someone will point out why I am wrong. FOI was 1A and LOI … Read more “QC 1805 by Izetti”
Times 27895 – Around here, we do study there…so to speak.
Time: 19 minutesMusic: Khachaturian, Violin Concerto, Oistrakh/Khachaturian/MRSO Another easy Monday, I would say, and so far the results in the SNITCH are confirming this. I did biff a quite a few answers, but had to … Read more “Times 27895 – Around here, we do study there…so to speak.”
Sunday Times 4940 – in the soup
14:16, but with a silly error. A fun puzzle though with some lovely clues. A few unfamiliar things – the lizard, one of the meanings in 7dn, 24dn – but all clearly indicated. Four cryptic … Read more “Sunday Times 4940 – in the soup”
Mephisto 3153 – Paul McKenna
Greetings barred-grid fans! I thought this was a step up in difficulty from the last two weeks… probably going back to the last Paul McKenna puzzle. I worked pretty steadily around the grid, and I … Read more “Mephisto 3153 – Paul McKenna”
Times Cryptic Jumbo 1480 – 23rd January 2021. 6d in a Teacup
Hello everyone. Very nice, very gentle, very little else to say. I hope you are feeling chattier than I am, or the poor setter will wonder what a person has to do to get a … Read more “Times Cryptic Jumbo 1480 – 23rd January 2021. 6d in a Teacup”
Times Cryptic No 27888 – Saturday, 30 January 2021. The red flames of Hell.
This was a smooth and quick solve until I was left only with the red at 20ac and the reference to the underworld at 7dn. Unlike the reference last week to Trotsky, this week’s red … Read more “Times Cryptic No 27888 – Saturday, 30 January 2021. The red flames of Hell.”
Quick Cryptic 1804 by Wurm
I ripped through this in 5 minutes, in may cases without parsing, and on reflection there are some absolute crackers. I’m particularly fond of 1ac, 8ac, 14 ac and 3 dn, but overall the surfaces are … Read more “Quick Cryptic 1804 by Wurm”
Times 27,893: Here’s a 1ac… Wear More Toppers
I didn’t race through this *or* find it particularly onerous for a Friday, though there were a few unknowns and MERs that slowed me down a tad. I mostly liked the classicksy references to Homer, … Read more “Times 27,893: Here’s a 1ac… Wear More Toppers”