Today we have what I think is a pleasant middle-of-the-road Quick Cryptic from our old friend Wurm. I was off to a flying start with 1A, 7A and 8A and was only held up by the actress, finishing in 4:36. LOI was 21A, which I needed the checkers to see. 4D, though, is maybe a bit of a tricky cryptic definition for a QC. How did you all get on?
Fortnightly Weekend Quick Cryptic. This time it is Phil’s turn to provide the extra weekend entertainment. You can find his crossword here. Enjoy!
Times Quick Cryptic No 2198 by Mara
I found this a touch on the easy side of average difficulty.
Times 28366 – didn’t he manage the Beatles?
Time taken: 14:26, and it seems from the early solvers that this is a tricky one. A good puzzle for looking carefully at the wordplay, as there are some answers that appear plausible from the … Read more “Times 28366 – didn’t he manage the Beatles?”
Times 28365 – skating on thick ice is easier
I’m not supposed to put people off by saying “this was easy today” when others might find otherwise, but I thought this was the easiest Wednesday puzzle I’ve blogged for a long while.
Times Quick Cryptic 2197 by Jalna
Another eminently doable puzzle today, with only one word to be found nowhere but in cryptic crosswords (19dn) and usually clued as ‘sash’ or similar.
Times Quick Cryptic 2196 by Pedro
This was an odd solve as I didn’t click with any acrosses until somewhere in the bottom half. The SE then filled in followed by NE and then the rest, finishing in the SW. My last two were the crossing 17ac and 14dn.
This all seemed to take an age, yet I finished 30 seconds within 10 minutes.
Times Cryptic 28364
32 minutes taken over my half-hour target by 10ac and 8dn. I had two unknown words at 16ac and 13dn but both were helped by clear wordplay.
Times 28363 – Today’s man, in more ways than one
A rather typical Monday puzzle, with one or two surprise entries. But if you follow the cryptic, it all falls rather easily into place. The two larger answers were particularly easy, which really opened up the middle of puzzle.
Times Quick Cryptic 2195 by Oink
I’m covering for Kitty this week as she is on holiday.
Mephisto 3231 – Paul McKenna
Greetings, barred-grid fans. Fun puzzle from Paul McKenna this week, with a pun in the top row that leapt out of the grid and got me off to a good start (even though I know … Read more “Mephisto 3231 – Paul McKenna”