Author: Chris

Thanks to Izetti for a puzzle which I found surprisingly accessible today – until a small stutter in the NE and then loi 16ac. Even then the clue clearly indicated an anagram and with all … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic 941 by Izetti”

Steady going through this one with several obvious definitions (biffable) but then the usual hold ups towards the end. No particular vocabulary issues and the French composer is well known. Struggled with 20ac in order … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic 936 by Teazel”

Very enjoyable QC with good surfaces throughout – 22dn, 17ac and COD 2dn to mention a few. There’s quite a high anagram count, some write ins and an odd flower part. ACROSS 1. Redbreast – … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic 931 by Mara”

Well, this was fun – but not in a ‘zoom though a QC in less than ten minutes’ sort of way. There are all sorts of really clever clues which are worth appreciating – some … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic 926 by Felix”

Looking through jackkt’s excellent difficulty scale, Mara’s ‘last time’ (6.5) seems to indicate a generally medium difficultly level when compared to the other setters. This proved to be the case today as I found this … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic 921 by Mara”

A good QC. 12 minutes of happy misdirection – a good example of which is LOI 15ac – I tried so hard to make up an item of clothing I’d never heard of only to … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic 916 by Flamande”

I couldn’t quite believe how quickly these answers went in. With only 3 left the clock showed 5 minutes. I may have got overexcited as I ended up with 8 minutes. The hold up was … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic 911 by Hurley”

A lot of clever clues here which have been a pleasure to blog. I seemed to be taking quite a time completing the grid but the two long ones and the programming language went straight … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic 906 by Alconiere”

Foreign capitals, Indian cities, flora and fauna plus some less usual vocabulary would, I’d have thought, have held me up longer than 12 minutes (less 1 second – if you’re interested). However everything flowed pretty … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic 901 by Orpheus”

Having fun with a new version of live journal editor. This blog was posted some time ago but ended up in the wrong place. So – here we go again.Thought I was on for a … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic 896 by Joker”