Author: Chris

I really struggled getting going in this one. My problems stemmed from the NW where LOIs were 2dn, 3dn, 1dn and finally 8ac. 10ac didn’t help matters either so I ended up at 16 minutes. … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic 1561 by Tracy”

Not my best form, judging by the ‘doh’ count – not least LOI 9ac which I realised I’d known all along. So a longish 13 minutes with lots to enjoy, including COD 13ac but also … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic 1556 by Orpheus”

Some class stuff in here which I found really entertaining. Maybe a stretch for newer solvers (it was for me!).Solving crosswords is often down to your general knowledge and whether yours is lucky enough to … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic 1551 by Izetti – he’s back!”

There are some great clues in here – with my appreciation of them and a very clever/fiendish (delete as appropriate) 21ac and 6dn long delay at the end left me in SCC territory at 16 … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic 1546 by Teazel”

The long anagram at 1ac didn’t click so the top section took some time at the end. Still finished in 9:38 so at the easier end for me (and the old stagers, I’d imagine). All … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic 1541 by Hurley”

I made heavy weather of this, probably down to the anagrams, and took13 minutes. I hope it’s just me as, on review, I can’t seewhy I got held up. I’ve had a bit of a … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic 1531 by Mara”

Smooth sailing until I was left struggling with 8dn, 3dn and 1ac which fell in that order in 11 minutes. A well crafted QC in my opinion – what’s yours? ACROSS 1. Professional baritone upset one … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic 1526 by Joker”

A swiftie today – I clocked in just less than 7 minutes so that must make a K a very small number indeed. All very accessible and easily clued – but that is simply my … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic 1521 by Teazel”

I found myself diving into, then backing out of, cul-de-sacs all over the grid with a good few not fully parsed until writing up in the blog. A good challenge and a pangram to boot … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic 1516 by Breadman”

I seemed to be taking a while with all the long clues so was surprised when I had it all wrapped it all up in 8:44 with loi 3dn. A Yuletide salute to the valiant … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic 1511 by Teazel”