Hi everybody. 17a is my firm favourite today as I’m currently popping round daily to feed and cuddle a colleague’s two truly adorable animals. 9a and 4d sent me on a less happy train of thought, so I will turn my attention back to the here and now. I took about 25% longer than average, which is unusual for me on a Monday. I’ll be interested to see how you found it. Thanks Hurley!
Month: August 2023
Mephisto 3283 – Robert Teuton
Greetings, barred-grid fans! I enjoyed this romp, there’s some quirky and suggestive clueing. Nothing too particularly difficult, but I am finding Robert Teuton’s clues to have consistently amusing surfaces and concise wordplay. In Mephisto puzzles, … Read more “Mephisto 3283 – Robert Teuton”
Sunday Times 5070 by Dean Mayer
DNF. I had no idea what was going on with 17ac and without any wordplay to speak of I was never going to get it.
Times Cryptic Jumbo 1626 – what a save!
I found this pretty easy, knocking it off in around 35 minutes with everything parsed. What about you?
Times Cryptic No 28668 – Saturday, 29 July 2023. Salsa beat.
Apparently, when dancing a salsa, the tempo is quick quick slow, quick quick slow. This puzzle was a bit like that for me.
Times Crossword Championship 2023
As announced by Mick Hodgkin on the Crossword Club site today…
“After a four-year gap, I am delighted to announce that the Times Crossword Championship is back. The 2023 Championship will be held on Saturday October 21st at Times HQ, the News Building, right by London Bridge station. We are returning to an in-person event, largely following the format of the 2019 contest – two qualifying sessions, a semifinal session for the highest finishers in each qualifier, and a grand final in which the top three semifinalists tackle one puzzle.”
Read the full post for more details.
Quick Cryptic 2454 by Beck
Achtung Baby
Times Cryptic No 28673 — Half asleep, half awake
I can’t quite tell the difficulty level here because I began this puzzle while waking up from a nap. Everything seemed a bit blurry at the beginning, but most of it was clear by the end.
Times Quick Cryptic No 2453 by Corelli – Who nose?
This took me 13 minutes…
Times 28672 – victory
Time taken: 9:18. Just a scratch faster than my average, though I expect there are a few answers that will hold up people less confident on trusting wordplay. At one point I thought the setter … Read more “Times 28672 – victory”