A more meaty and esoteric puzzle than we’ve had on a Wednesday for a while. which I really enjoyed.
Month: May 2023
Times Quick Cryptic No 2407 by Jalna
My first go at blogging Jalna – this is a nicely-balanced grid with an even mixture of clue-types.
QC 2406 by Teazel
Some tough old parsings in here, which were hidden by some very clever clueing.
Times Cryptic 28616
This was my fastest ever solve
Times 28615 – The Monday after Pentecost!
I found this a bit on the tricky side, with the kind of literals one might find in Mephisto. Fortunately, the vocabulary was not particularly esoteric, so if you trust the cryptics you will get the answers.
Times Quick Cryptic 2405 by Orpheus – plenty more fish
Hello everyone. At first this Quick Cryptic seemed like it would live up to its name and I zoomed along … until I didn’t.
Sunday Times 5060 by David McLean
12:23. I made a complete mess of this.
Mephisto 3273 – Tim Moorey
Greetings, barred-grid fans. Ready for some more deep dives into Mephisto? Tim Moorey presented a fun puzzle with some unlikely terms, fortunately the precise wordplay gives a way in to the weirdest entries. Fewer pop … Read more “Mephisto 3273 – Tim Moorey”
Times Cryptic Jumbo 1615 – 13 May 2023. That Don’t Impresario Me Much
Hello everyone. After a good start I tired a little and had to take a break. A bit more than an hour in total, but probably technically a DNF anyway: I had a typo, but while I was searching for the mistake I tested alternate spellings for the unknown impresario at 7d, and didn’t recall whether my original arrangement of vowels had been right. There were a few NHOs in the mix, so I was happy enough with that.
I didn’t have any standout favourite clues but noted some clever anagrams and various other nice touches. Thanks setter!
Times Cryptic No 28608 – Saturday, 20 May 2023. The Bells are Ringing
There are some delightful definitions today! 1, 16, 18, 20 and 27 across, and 5 and 12 down all made me smile. The wordplay in 13ac also stood out.