My solving time was one minute under an hour with 21dn as my last one in.
Month: July 2022
Times Quick Cryptic 2186 by Teazel
Quite a lot of untangling required here with a few interesting threads which led me off to the dictionaries. 21ac ended up being my problem clue today – it took me to just over 10 minutes.
Times Quick Cryptic 2185 by Izetti
Hello all. When possible I like to keep the setter’s identity a mystery until after solving, so I come to the puzzle without preconceptions and can guess and then check who was responsible. Today’s setter not only gave himself away courtesy of a couple of religious references, but also signed the puzzle at 11a. All good fun, for which thanks to Izetti.
Times 28351 – The takeaway place
I did not find this one particularly difficult, despite numerous mis-biffs, and managed to trot home in a decent time for me. Lack of any attempt to conceal the literals was certainly helpful.
Mephisto 3229 – Don Manley
Greetings, barred-grid fans – we begin with some news from Mephistoland: Don Manley is stepping down from Mephisto after his 200th puzzle in January, and we are looking for one or more new setters. If you have … Read more “Mephisto 3229 – Don Manley”
Sunday Times 5016 by Dean Mayer
21:33. I found this very tough for reasons I now can’t put my finger on. It all seems so straightforward now, which is often the mark of a very good puzzle.
Times Cryptic Jumbo 1565 – 9 July 2022. Don’t go 45d in the sun, folks
Hello everyone. I hope that you have been managing to stay cool. I’ve just noticed that my last Jumbo blog was written in the last heatwave, which wasn’t as bad as this one has been. I fervently hope that in five weeks’ time I won’t be saying the same thing!
Again, no time for this as I solved when it was still far too hot and took my time over a few sessions. I didn’t have too many difficulties, but did have to trust to the wordplay in places. It’s satisfying when you can do that but still have reasonable confidence in your answers. Thanks setter!
Times Cryptic No 28344 – Saturday, 16 July 2022. To be or not for me?
Not everyone may agree, but for me this was less unsettling than the week before, with less need to take the definitions on trust. I admit 25dn caused a bit of head-scratching! My LOI was the clever 26ac, which put me in mind of Hamlet.
Times 28,349: My Mate Marmion
I polished this off relatively quickly (video solve here, with bonus Guardian Enigmatist at the end) but it certainly had its tricky bits! The somewhat fusty feel to the vocabulary, two cricket clues back-to-back, and … Read more “Times 28,349: My Mate Marmion”
Quick Cryptic 2184 by Breadman
I enjoyed this. Medium difficulty I’d say, but nice surfaces and rewarding wordplay.