Author: branch

In these times of Christmas celebrations, COVID lockdowns, and summer travel (this side of the equator), the sort of police controls at 1ac loom large! Not that any of those things trouble our household … … Read more “Times Cryptic No 27870 – Saturday, 9 January 2021. Don’t drink or drive.”

Well, this would have been a much easier job than the week before, if only I hadn’t come up with a plausible but wrong solution to an anagram. That gave me a crossing letter which … Read more “Times Cryptic No 27864 – Saturday, 2 Jan 2021. There’s no such thing as a free hunch!”

This was a rather challenging, quirky puzzle. With many clues, I needed to look closely at the clue after I found the answer, to make sure I understood the definition, or the wordplay, or both! … Read more “Times Cryptic No 27858 – Saturday, 26 December 2020. Fill it au poivre?”

By the sound of it, some solvers like to take a structured approach: start with 1ac and proceed in order to 24dn, before going back to fill in any gaps. That’s not my style! I … Read more “Times Cryptic No 27852 – Saturday, 19 December 2020. All over the grid.”

In the quiz category “crosswords as a foreign language”, I did quite poorly on vocabulary this week! The answers at 2dn and 6dn have both come up occasionally before, as has the word for “seaweed” … Read more “Times Cryptic No 27846 – Saturday, 12 December 2020. Lost for words.”

I did this puzzle in snatches during a busy Saturday, so I don’t know how long it would have taken under normal conditions. The standout clue for me was 1dn. I had no idea what … Read more “Times Cryptic No 27840 – Saturday, 5 December 2020.”

This puzzle had some delicious clues. The guardian angel has a Spanish tinge in 17ac, and the politicians are still dealing ineptly with the concept of hardship in 4dn. And as for 24ac: who, me? … Read more “Times Cryptic No 27834 – Saturday, 28 November 2020. Someone to watch over me?”

As a gentle warm-up for the Online Championships, this should have hit the spot perfectly! I hoped those who tried the championship would have fun, though I wouldn’t be one of you! Neither time zone … Read more “Times Cryptic No 27828 – Saturday, 21 November 2020. On your marks. Get set. Fizz.”

Things looked bright when both 1ac and 1dn went in at first glance! From there things went smoothly, until I was left with just 6dn … an obscure foreign phrase clued as an anagram. My … Read more “Times Cryptic No 27822 – Saturday, 14 November 2020. San Fairy Ann.”

This was a smooth solve. I printed it after 11am, and finished before noon (while watching reporting on the US Election, moving along about as fast as grass grows). There were only a few vocabulary … Read more “Times Cryptic No 27816 – Saturday, 7 November 2020. Nice and easy.”