Author: Curarist

Nine minutes for me, probably towards the harder end of the spectrum. 1ac and 3dn held me up. 8 dn made me smile. Across 1 See both wandering into shops, identifying store for a later … Read more “Quick Cryptic 1674 by Pedro”

8 minutes. Immediately abandoned my attempt to do it as a clean sweep, having been unable to spot 1ac without a bit of help. Generally straightforward, unusual (and helpful) grid pattern. COD 1 dn for sure. … Read more “Quick Cryptic 1664 by Orpheus”

Nice fun puzzle, not too hard. I got tripped up in a couple of places by overcomplicating it. 7 min for me. Across 1 Drunk bringing large snake into bed (9) BLADDERED – L + … Read more “Quick Cryptic 1654 by Wurm”

Not the easiest, but fairly straightforward after the fact. I took a while to spot 7 & 8 down. 9 ac is interesting. Obvious answer, but very unusual parsing, with the definition being dragged into … Read more “Quick Cryptic 1644 by Joker”

I quite liked this, though having overslept and overdone it last night, I could have done with an easier one. Lots of good clues, 23a is my favourite. Not sure about 18dn which seems to … Read more “Quick Cryptic 1634 by Rodney”

Super-straightforward today. 8 minutes for me as a clean sweep. Slight pause at 23ac, but otherwise straight through. Across 1 Distributing stern notices brings penitence (12) CONTRITENESS – anagram (‘distributing’) of STERN NOTICES 8 Tramp … Read more “Quick Cryptic 1624 by Wurm”

Nothing to scare the horses too much here. Inspired by Templarredux’s feat from my last blogging day, I have decided to try and do all QCs as ‘clean sweeps’, i.e. do all the clues strictly … Read more “Quick Cryptic 1615 by Tracy”

This was a somewhat odd concoction. Heavy on the double definitions and with quite a few clunky parsings. Can’t say I found it easy at 11 minutes. Across 1 Packed, to be on the safe … Read more “Quick Cryptic 1604 by Teazel”

Straightforward I think, but I have a thumping headache. 9 minutes for me. Across 1 Thread or line attached to card (4) LACE – L + ACE 3 Meatiest stews producing round figure? (8) ESTIMATE … Read more “Quick Cryptic 1594 by Rongo”

I took ages to get going with this, but it was reasonably starightforward after that. I seemed to do a lot of biffing. I’ll be interested to see how you all got on. 10 minutes … Read more “Quick Cryptic 1584 by Mara”