Author: branch

No exotica here, but everything was challenging. Several clues where I made a note to myself to check later that some word really can mean what the clue suggests! My COD was 4dn. I also … Read more “Times Saturday 26730 – May 20, 2017. And it’s goodbye from me for the while”

This was full of wonderful clues. Many of them seem simple as I write the blog, but felt rewarding to solve. 28ac was my LOI, and took a little time to see the wordplay even … Read more “Times Saturday 26724 – May 13, 2017. A delight of a crossword!”

This crossword certainly had its quota of obscure answers! Strangely my first two in were 22dn and 25 across, although one I only vaguely remembered from past crosswords, and the other I didn’t know at … Read more “Times Saturday 26718 – May 6, 2017. Wailing wildly!”

This was heavy in historical references and obscure (to me, at least) foreign nouns, which may have slowed down those solvers who don’t already have a Master’s rating in useless information. The rest of us … Read more “Times Saturday 26712 – April 29, 2017. Frankly, I did it his way.”

Lots of delightful cluing this week. Great breadth of answers, geographic, culinary, classical, arts and more. Some clever single and double nested answers, and some nice misdirection. Even the dreaded fauna item was something familiar … Read more “Times Saturday 26706 – April 22, 2017. Simply elegant.”

This crossword had a lot of delicious clues. 16dn was an absolute delight! The more obscure answers were all gettable from the wordplay. And happily, no flora, no fauna. A very satisfying crossword. Thanks to … Read more “Times Saturday 26700 – April 15, 2017. See you in Ibiza?”

In the eternal football cliché, this was a game of two halves. More precisely, with a call out to Aussie Rules football, a game of four quarters! The LHS went in smoothly with 2dn the … Read more “Times Saturday 26694 – April 8, 2017. No four letter words please!”

Another Saturday on the easy side, for me at least. Perhaps I was just on the setter’s wavelength. Lots of clever clues, but few obscurities, although I’ve only ever met the gentleman in 11ac in … Read more “Times Saturday 26688 – April 1, 2017. Elegant simplicity.”

That was a delight. I expect fast times for sure, and I certainly had a new personal best. As usual some answers from the world of nature were unfamiliar, but the cluing was clear enough. … Read more “Times Saturday 26682 – March 25, 2017. A walk in the park.”

As I start this blog I still have three answers unexplained: 1ac, 11ac, and 12dn, although given the checkers I think all three answers are clear. I hope the penny drops soon. (Aha – 1ac … Read more “Times Saturday 26676 – March 18, 2017. Insights sadly lacking.”