I’m here in a cameo appearance today, filling in for william_j_s, who is on holidays. Good luck to him. My usual beat is the Saturday Cryptic, where I have a week to do the blog, … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic No 1067 by Orpheus – Wed, 11 April 2018. A flying visit.”
Author: branch
Times Cryptic No 27000 – Saturday, 31 March 2018. Crossword 27K day.
Some were forecasting a special showing for this millennial puzzle No. 27,000, but as far as I can see it’s business as usual, unlike the Verlaine special No. 26,999 the day before. It took me … Read more “Times Cryptic No 27000 – Saturday, 31 March 2018. Crossword 27K day.”
Times Cryptic No 26994 – Saturday, 24 March 2018. Are you sitting comfortably beslippered?
This was probably middle of the road in difficulty – easier than last week, for sure. I did it on paper in about an hour. Only one obscure answer, with a clue that left the … Read more “Times Cryptic No 26994 – Saturday, 24 March 2018. Are you sitting comfortably beslippered?”
Times Cryptic No 26988 – Saturday, 17 March 2018. Another good workout.
Another fine puzzle, but for me much harder than last week. I did about a quarter, and then came to a dead stop, before inching through the SW, SE, NW and finally NE. LOI was … Read more “Times Cryptic No 26988 – Saturday, 17 March 2018. Another good workout.”
Times Cryptic No 26982 – Saturday, 10 March 2018. A tasty number.
Much easier than last week. All done, checked and submitted in 33:16. LOI was 11ac, for no good reason – the concept came to mind quickly, but the answer hid itself in the recesses of … Read more “Times Cryptic No 26982 – Saturday, 10 March 2018. A tasty number.”
Times Cryptic No 26976 – Saturday, 03 March 2018. Happiness is a hard crossword.
Setter, take a bow … what a delight! At first pass, I could barely see how to pass a single clue, far less see any answers. All up it took me over two hours – … Read more “Times Cryptic No 26976 – Saturday, 03 March 2018. Happiness is a hard crossword.”
Times Cryptic No 26970 – Saturday, 24 February 2018. Up the river without a paddle?
In the middle of another hectic weekend this took me 35-40 minutes, so fairly easy, I think. Interestingly, as I now start the blog, I can identify all but two of the definitions at a … Read more “Times Cryptic No 26970 – Saturday, 24 February 2018. Up the river without a paddle?”
Times Cryptic No 26964 – Saturday, 17 February 2018. No style points for the blogger.
I did this in bits and pieces in the middle of other activities, so I can’t give a time or a difficulty rating. All I can say is it came together in the end. My … Read more “Times Cryptic No 26964 – Saturday, 17 February 2018. No style points for the blogger.”
Times Cryptic No 26958 – Saturday, 10 February 2018. Once begun, half done.
For me this puzzle was hard to start, but once I had a foothold it flowed fairly smoothly. Once I saw 1dn, the NW corner gave up its secrets easily. Hardest was probably the long … Read more “Times Cryptic No 26958 – Saturday, 10 February 2018. Once begun, half done.”
Times Cryptic No 26952 – Saturday, 03 February 2018. Normal service has now resumed.
After the mystery clues of the previous Saturday, this was a straightforward solve. I took a wild stab at the botany clue, and took the setter at his word for the geography clue, but everything … Read more “Times Cryptic No 26952 – Saturday, 03 February 2018. Normal service has now resumed.”