Author: Guy du Sable

Great fun, as always, from Bob. Some very tricky stuff, I thought, but no perplexity remaining in the end.

Wow, I was really on the wavelength for this one!—hence the French expression in my headline, which originated in the vocabulary for radio transmissions: « Employé…pour indiquer le niveau de compréhension des messages transmis, sur … Read more “Sunday Times Cryptic 5003, by David McLean — Reçu cinq sur cinq !”

Almost Easter. Guess that’s why. When I solved 17, some time before seeing what was behind the seemingly anodyne 19 that appropriately crosses it, I was flooded with my eternal revulsion at the atavistic notion … Read more “Sunday Times Cryptic 5001, by Dean Mayer — Nailed it!”

Ingenious and entertaining, with vivid surfaces hiding a variety of devious devices. I first thought of headlining this “the pusher is in.” One would expect a 5 to do more than sell medication, but of … Read more “Sunday Times Cryptic 4999, by David McLean — and very him”

Anything here to effrayer les équidés? Worked this at a leisurely pace, as usual, taking plenty of time to think, and I found it rather educational. I learned, or at least solidified my knowledge of, … Read more “Sunday Times Cryptic 4997, by Dean Mayer — all in the family”

Maybe it’s because Bob is one of our fellow commenters on this blog (regularly providing an erudite and apt literary citation) that his puzzles rarely, if ever, occasion any MERs, let alone controversy over definitions, … Read more “Sunday Times Cryptic 4995, by Robert Price — Turn that frown upside down!”

Well, out of 10, I’d give it a 7.5, at least. Maybe an 8.Slick surfaces, indeed.On which we see pattern dances, arabesques, backflips.And these always end with a solid two-footed landing.There are also a couple … Read more “Sunday Times Cryptic 4993, by David McLean — Olympics-level performance?”

Solid, sufficiently scintillating session.Slick surfaces.Succinct suggestions.Sly subtexts.Some small something seemed strange, still… I indicate (a Sam rang)* like this, and italicize anagrinds in the clues. ACROSS  1 Poor piece of work that setter’s put away? … Read more “Sunday Times Cryptic 4991, by Dean Mayer — What it’s all about”

…this puzzle is constructed. No exotic vocabulary, no CDs (not that I mind either), no stretchy definitions, all quite clear and no questions or quibbles left after solving… and yet I had to look at … Read more “Sunday Times Cryptic 4989, by Robert Price — With wit and cunning”

You can’t fool me! Ha. Having got the long song title at the bottom right away, I expected very smooth sailing… but it turned out not to be a steady breeze. There were a few … Read more “Sunday Times Christmas Cryptic 4987, by David McLean — There ain’t no sanity clause!”