A neat and pleasant Quick Cryptic from Joker today to finish the week’s Times series. Some gentle clueing, I think, helped me complete this in my fastest time for a while. I liked the building … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic No 1999 by Joker”
Month: November 2021
Times 28,127: I Dug 18dn And That’s Why I Drink
I was well off the boil for this eminently vendredic puzzle but at least that means anyone watching my Twitch stream got value for money as I toiled over this one for over a quarter … Read more “Times 28,127: I Dug 18dn And That’s Why I Drink”
Times Quick Cryptic No 1998 by Mara
A very pleasant puzzle of about average difficulty from Mara: I came in a notch under 9 minutes, held up briefly at the end with 18ac. It seemed like there were a lot of references … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic No 1998 by Mara”
28126 Thursday, 4 November 2021 Mad monks and mishpronunciation
Top half a bit of a doddle except the Aussie bit, bottom half a serious treacle wading exercise, with some tricksy definitions, including one I’m still not convinced by but expect to have my obtuseness … Read more “28126 Thursday, 4 November 2021 Mad monks and mishpronunciation”
Times Quick Cryptic 1997 by Hurley
Really enjoyed this. Not a puzzle with exceptionally polished surfaces, but just confusing enough to entertain. There is not a single word in any of the clues or answers that is unusual or unreasonable, nor … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic 1997 by Hurley”
Times 28125 – I like those sweet little things.
A more straightforward offering than recent Wednesdays, I found, getting home in under 20 minutes. However when it came to parsing I found a couple of clues worried me – 5D and 8D – perhaps … Read more “Times 28125 – I like those sweet little things.”
Times Cryptic 28124
Solving time: 41 minutes. Some of this was quite tricky. As usual definitions are underlined in bold italics, {deletions and substitutions are in curly brackets} and [anagrinds, containment, reversal and other indicators in square ones]. … Read more “Times Cryptic 28124”
Times Quick Cryptic 1996 by Orpheus
Lots of entertaining clues in this one and I enjoyed the nearly 10 minutes it took to complete. Not much more to say so click below for the blog and let’s get going. Definitions are … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic 1996 by Orpheus”
Monthly Club Special 20,253: One Flew East, One Flew West
A lovely puzzle with some truly majestic nesting and plenty of cuckoo. 1ac and 17ac are particular favourites of mine, but it’s all good. WOD to 7dn. If you’re up before the beak, perhaps you … Read more “Monthly Club Special 20,253: One Flew East, One Flew West”
Times 28123 – Russell Oberlin, perhaps?
Time: 31 minutesMusic: Tchaikovsky, Symphony 2, Markevitch/LSO This one was unusually chewy for a Monday, at least for me. While some were write-ins, some were not, and a number of them had to biffed and … Read more “Times 28123 – Russell Oberlin, perhaps?”