Another Saturday puzzle easy to finish over lunch, but full of delightful clues. FOI was 4dn, which jumped off the page, followed by 1ac as soon as I read the clue. As a clear sign … Read more “Times Cryptic No 27588 – Saturday, 15 February 2020. Done like a dinner.”
Author: branch
Times Cryptic No 27582 – Saturday, 08 February 2020. Oom-pah-pah.
An easy solve, finished over lunch. Always nice. I liked the appearance of the brass band instrument, but my clue of the day was the pun at 1dn. Thanks to the setter for a very … Read more “Times Cryptic No 27582 – Saturday, 08 February 2020. Oom-pah-pah.”
Times Cryptic No 27576 – Saturday, 01 February 2020. A sadder and a wiser man ….
I think this puzzle was easier than recent Saturdays. I started easily, but then I struggled with 13dn and its crossers – why are foreign language anagram answers so much harder to see? And as … Read more “Times Cryptic No 27576 – Saturday, 01 February 2020. A sadder and a wiser man ….”
Times Cryptic No 27570 – Saturday, 25 January 2020. O, I’ll take the low road …
A meaty puzzle, this one. Many nice surfaces, and lots to mull over. The only answers that were beyond my general knowledge was helpfully clued. My clue of the day was 25ac – lucky lass, … Read more “Times Cryptic No 27570 – Saturday, 25 January 2020. O, I’ll take the low road …”
Times Cryptic No 27564 – Saturday January 18th 2020. Hard, not hard.
This was a slow solve for me, but really there isn’t anything fearsome involved. The clue of the day for me was the elegant 5dn. Thanks to the setter for a very enjoyable puzzle. Clues … Read more “Times Cryptic No 27564 – Saturday January 18th 2020. Hard, not hard.”
Times Cryptic No 27558 – Saturday January 11th, 2020. Another pleasant midsummer Saturday.
Times Cryptic No 27558 – Saturday January 11th, 2020. Another pleasant midsummer Saturday. The setters continue to be gentle in the holiday season. I rolled through this one at a steady pace. Strangely my LOI … Read more “Times Cryptic No 27558 – Saturday January 11th, 2020. Another pleasant midsummer Saturday.”
Times Cryptic No 27552 – Saturday, 04 January 2020. Through a smoke haze darkly.
Again, I found this puzzle hard to start and then relatively easy to finish. In other news, Australia is still here. We were planning a family trip to Canberra next week, but had to cancel … Read more “Times Cryptic No 27552 – Saturday, 04 January 2020. Through a smoke haze darkly.”
Times Cryptic No 27546 – Saturday 28 December 2019. Fire, fire everywhere.
Millions of hectares (over ten million acres) ablaze. Over a thousand homes destroyed. People dead. Tens of thousands evacuated. Smoke giving our cities have the worst air quality in the world. And climate denialist politicians … Read more “Times Cryptic No 27546 – Saturday 28 December 2019. Fire, fire everywhere.”
Times Cryptic No 27540 – Saturday, 21 December 2019. Feeling a lot like Christmas.
In fact while I was solving this puzzle it felt so much like Christmas that, as soon as I saw that the helpers for 2dn were C-R-S—, I wrote in CHRISTMAS without further ado. Too … Read more “Times Cryptic No 27540 – Saturday, 21 December 2019. Feeling a lot like Christmas.”
Times Cryptic No 27534 – Saturday, 14 December 2019. Piano forte!
I found this easy for a Saturday. FOI 6ac, LOI 26ac. Some answers I’ll need to check in the dictionary for this blog. The clever wordplay at 14ac made that my clue of the day. … Read more “Times Cryptic No 27534 – Saturday, 14 December 2019. Piano forte!”