I have to admit I did not find this very easy. I only got three of the across clues and three of the downs on my first run-through, which is not exactly encouraging.
Month: December 2022
Sunday Times 5036 by David McLean
17:48. A tricky puzzle that felt a little quirky to me as I was solving, but having gone through it to write the blog I can’t now see why. It all seems perfectly in order. … Read more “Sunday Times 5036 by David McLean”
Mephisto 3249 – Paul McKenna
Greetings barred-grid fans. While I didn’t find this puzzle particularly difficult to complete, there’s some deep dives in Chambers that make writing this up a challenge. I am also a little befuddled about the top … Read more “Mephisto 3249 – Paul McKenna”
Times Cryptic Jumbo 1586 – Straiten Out (RIP Jet Black)
I toiled with this for about 75 minutes over three sessions but was watching World Cup football at the same time. It took a while to get going as none of the early acrosses jumped out at me (although with hindsight some of them are very straightforward).
Times Cryptic No 28464 – Saturday, 3 December 2022. A walk on the mild side
I zipped through this: top left, bottom right, bottom left, home. Hardy a pause but several smiles. LOI was 15ac, only because of my lack of geographic knowledge. I enjoyed 16dn and the inheritance at 4dn.
Quick Cryptic 2284 by Pedro
A fine set of surfaces, not a clunker among them.
Times Cryptic No 28469 — Call it hell, call it heaven
DNF, but about 20 minutes to get to my sticking points: 13 and 23 across. Not a difficult puzzle but nevertheless one I labored over. I am still waiting for and expecting a truly beastly Friday to reckon with!
Times Quick Cryptic No 2283 by Hurley
11 minutes and 11 seconds for me to solve this elegant puzzle from Hurley…
Times 28468 – what colour are those cells again?
Time taken: 7:45, but with one silly error, showing that I have been in the USA for far too long. A couple of letter subtraction clues today could be the stumbling point for solvers, but … Read more “Times 28468 – what colour are those cells again?”
Times Quick Cryptic 2282 by Juno
An easy-to-moderate puzzle with a pretty obvious theme. A couple of unusual words that may cause some eyebrows to be raised, but all fairly clued.