Solving time : I resorted to aids (Chambers and Bradfords) after 35 minutes to get the last few, so 41 cheating minutes. I found this one tough. Really tough. On a first scan through the … Read more “Times 23860 – A mal song rang (4,8)”
Author: glh
Mephisto 2479 – Mike Laws
This was one of the hardest Mpehisto’s I’ve tackled in a while. The bottom half didn’t take long at all, but after a first sitting the top half was almost empty (4d was the only … Read more “Mephisto 2479 – Mike Laws”
Times 23848. Don’t drink and solve
Solving time : 45 minutes, with one break, and a lot of deliberation, and there’s two I’m not 100% on. Thanks for the emails and comments about my new Listener blog. I’ll be updating it … Read more “Times 23848. Don’t drink and solve”
Mephisto 2475 – Chris Feetenby
Most of this fell rather readily, I had to check a few spellings. I like this style of Mephisto where the obscure words have fair wordplay and enough checking letters to give someone of my … Read more “Mephisto 2475 – Chris Feetenby”
Times 23830 – the winner was abstergent
Solving time : 10 minutes. Blistering start, and a few proper names snagged me towards the end that had to be worked out using wordplay. Found this one fairly straightforward, clues needed a little thinking … Read more “Times 23830 – the winner was abstergent”
Times 23824 – a lot of 16 down
Solving time : headed to the reference books after 30 minutes of head-scratching. This has not been my week (at least for the Times…). Across 1 CROC(U)S – crocs are dangerous beasts, but I’ll still … Read more “Times 23824 – a lot of 16 down”
Times 23812 – for want of a brass hat
Solving time : After 28 minutes, hit the net to get an answer to 23ac Another puzzle that took me a long time to get started on. Nothing jumped out at me in an initial … Read more “Times 23812 – for want of a brass hat”
Mephisto 2471 – Tim Moorey
This one was a fast start and a very very slow finish. One of the words was well-hidden, not only in the clue, but in the wordplay as well. This puzzle did include a clue … Read more “Mephisto 2471 – Tim Moorey”
Mephisto 2467 – Mike Laws
I found this one a very rewarding slog, took three sittings to complete and the last one was an extensive cross-referencing of Chambers to sort out the NE corner. As usual with the Mephisto, a … Read more “Mephisto 2467 – Mike Laws”
Times 23783 – I’ve got the subtraction blues
Solving time : 39 minutes, and the last 10 of that poring through dictionaries to find the mysterious last few words. There was a lot here that was new to me, usually literature and art … Read more “Times 23783 – I’ve got the subtraction blues”