Time taken: 9:18. Got out of rehearsal early, so I’m doing the puzzle a bit earlier than I expected. The first few times are all over the place, so this might be a puzzle for … Read more “Times 28084 – not so steep”
Month: September 2021
Times Quick Cryptic 1962 by Oink
Emergency Blog. No time for full explanations but if anything needs more detail please ask. I found this one particularly hard for some reason. I actually stopped the clock twice and took breaks. Solving time: … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic 1962 by Oink”
Times 28083 – ‘ard as nails, guv’nor.
I’ll be interested to see if the SNITCH goes high today, as I found this really hard, to the point of being obtuse and obscure in places; solving was one problem, but explaining the gory … Read more “Times 28083 – ‘ard as nails, guv’nor.”
Times Cryptic 28082
Solving time: 34 minutes. Quite easy to solve but some of the parsing took some decipehering e.g. 20dn and 24d. As usual definitions are underlined in bold italics, {deletions and substitutions are in curly brackets} … Read more “Times Cryptic 28082”
Times Quick Cryptic 1961 by Mara
Very short on time today as travelling so my usually succinct blog may seem even thinner than usual. Do chat amongst yourselves! Definitions are underlined. Across 1 Card put back inside uppermost part of boot … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic 1961 by Mara”
We are now officially Big Data
Greetings all – Loplop from the National Puzzlers league has compiled a database of cryptic crossword clues, and includes 12 years of our blog posts as sources for the clues, answers and analysis. You can … Read more “We are now officially Big Data”
Times 28081 – I’ll have whatever Emma’s having
Born in Canada to a Romanian dad and a Chinese mum, Emma Radacanu is as British as you can get, and I would like to dedicate this blog to her fabulous run to the US … Read more “Times 28081 – I’ll have whatever Emma’s having”
Times Quick Cryptic 1960 by Hurley
Solving time: 9 minutes. Only a couple of words here that aren’t perhaps in daily use so I hope, like me, you found this on the easy side. As usual definitions are underlined in bold … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic 1960 by Hurley”
Times Cryptic Jumbo 1515 – Monday 30th August 2021. My 21a is flagging
Hello all, I hope you enjoyed the bank holiday. What bank holiday? I hear you say. Yes, two weeks can be a long time, especially in crosswordland. I wouldn’t win any prizes for time with … Read more “Times Cryptic Jumbo 1515 – Monday 30th August 2021. My 21a is flagging”
Mephisto 3184 – Excuse me, Mr Blair…..
As I’ve said before, I always like a Don Manley puzzle. The clues are fair, and if you follow the rules you will be rewarded. In the case of this puzzle, I was able to … Read more “Mephisto 3184 – Excuse me, Mr Blair…..”