Author: Chris

Watch out for a smattering of question marks, some not-so-QC vocabulary and a tree which wouldn’t normally spring to mind. I rather enjoyed this but it didn’t seem like a newbie-friendly puzzle. It felt like … Read more “Quick Cryptic No 246 by Izetti”

Our blogger for today, william_j_s, is unfortunately competely tied up at work. Being on a roll after filling in yesterday, here is my latest instalment. Hoping that you aren’t getting too bored with my scratchings … Read more “Quick Crytpic No 244 by Tracy”

I agreed to stand in for macavity123 on 26th Feb and 6th March but there’s every chance I’ve messed the dates up. So with apologies for being late – and that you have only the … Read more “Quick Cryptic No 243 by Flamande”

Some challenging vocabulary for which the definitions given are from Collins. 19ac required a (fortunately correct) guess between the two usual types of graduate. Not many went in from the definition alone so the wordplay … Read more “Quick Cryptic No 241 by Orpheus”

Several clues went in on a first pass and I thought this was going to be an easy one – I was wrong! Some clues were really satisfying – requiring building up sections of wordplay … Read more “Quick Cryptic No 236 by Hurley”

I was galloping through this one thinking the going was good to soft but then found the final furlong (the NW) rather sticky. 12ac and 4dn proved difficult but, as usual, in retrospect I wonder … Read more “Quick Cryptic No 231 by Tracy”

Not much time for an 18ac as this is a late stand in. I hope macavity’s problems with appointments and late running staff due to snow have now been resolved. Please feel free to provide … Read more “Quick Cryptic No 228 by Teazel”

A very enjoyable puzzle which seemed, at first glance, quite hard but a few long ones went in and the grid was nearly complete. There’s a lot of humour and, like a good (well, any) … Read more “Quick Cryptic No 226 by Joker”

The crossword became available online just after midnight. On edit – I have removed a comment here after extra information from Jerry below (for which – thanks!).The crossword, once accessed, was a really tough one. … Read more “Quick Cryptic No 221 by Tracy”

I found this considerably more difficult than yesterday’s – with the crossing clues at 5dn and 8ac causing particular problems. Going over the clues again, post solve, they all hang together well – so good … Read more “Quick Cryptic No 216 by Hurley”