This puzzle was published on the same day that AZED celebrated 40 years of setting (congratulations Jonathan). I don’t know if Don deliberately made it easy so that we could all concentrate on the AZED … Read more “Mephisto 2688 by Don Manley”
Author: dorsetjimbo
Times 25,103 – The Orpington Mangel-Wurzel
Solving time 15 minutes Nothing really difficult today. A couple of old devices (the chicken and the watch) that if you haven’t met them before might give a problem and a slightly old fashioned feel … Read more “Times 25,103 – The Orpington Mangel-Wurzel”
Mephisto 2686 by Tim Moorey
With so much comment flying around concerning the Saturday and Sunday ordinary cryptics, this turned out to be a middle of the road puzzle that was simply fun to solve and none the worse for … Read more “Mephisto 2686 by Tim Moorey”
Times 25,091 A Geography Lesson
Solving time 25 minutes Good chewy puzzle that was always interesting with some complicated wordplays that some will not like but that I enjoy. There’s a geographical flavour with place names from Cornwall, London, NSW … Read more “Times 25,091 A Geography Lesson”
Mephisto 2684 by Paul McKenna
Standard Mephisto fare of reasonable level of difficulty. A “once in 50 years” event is recorded at 31A. The worrying news is occurring off the pitch with Rupert Murdoch once again obliged to jet into … Read more “Mephisto 2684 by Paul McKenna”
Times 25,079 Where the Dickens?
Solving time 20 minutes I was convinced this puzzle would be a tribute to Dickens, today being the 200th anniversary of his birth. I was ready to moan about the failure to recognise Darwin’s similar … Read more “Times 25,079 Where the Dickens?”
Mephisto 2682 by Don Manley
I really enjoyed this puzzle which I felt was of a good level of difficulty with some nicely constructed clues. No queries or problems. Across 1 NARK – (s)NARK; reference Lewis Carroll, The Hunting of … Read more “Mephisto 2682 by Don Manley”
Times 25,067 No – Not Swing Or Spin
Solving time 25 minutes A pangram with some complicated word plays and a couple of botanical obscurities. The old cricket term and reference to Richard Ingram’s poorly titled magazine may cause some head scratching overseas. … Read more “Times 25,067 No – Not Swing Or Spin”
Mephisto 2680 by Tim Moorey
This I thought a reasonably difficult puzzle with a number of well crafted clues and a smaller than usual number of starter clues. I have one query at 1D where I suspect the clue “port … Read more “Mephisto 2680 by Tim Moorey”
Times 25,055 Not James Joyce!
Solving time 20 minutes A normal Times cryptic with a good overall standard of clues, no queries or problems, solved left to right, top to bottom. I seemed to spend a lot of time taking … Read more “Times 25,055 Not James Joyce!”