Author: Zabadak

Goes down in my book as A Bit Tricky, my time of 27.40 more inflated by the need to parse properly as I went along than by any particularly opaque wordplay or abstruse definitions. I … Read more “28162 Thursday, 16 December 2021 I, the returning officer…”

At the time of writing I am way over the average time taken for this puzzle, and although I’ll give examples of where I slowed to a crawl below, I can see that it’s not … Read more “28150 Thursday, 2 December 2021 Perfectly crumulent”

Not too tricky at this station, arriving fully parsed in 20.19, but as you may infer from my ramblings below, there are quite a few bits where the general knowledge may not be all that … Read more “28138 Thursday, 18 November 2021 You might say that….”

Top half a bit of a doddle except the Aussie bit, bottom half a serious treacle wading exercise, with some tricksy definitions, including one I’m still not convinced by but expect to have my obtuseness … Read more “28126 Thursday, 4 November 2021 Mad monks and mishpronunciation”

Well, I struggled my way through this one, taking 33.39 with answers scattered all over the place, trying (and failing) to parse as I went so I could look you all in the face and … Read more “28114 Thursday, 21 October 2021 Ballet tricky”

From where I’m sitting, with a time of 14.27, much the easiest of the week, unlikely to be eclipsed in that regard by the Friday. I didn’t get much of a start in the top … Read more “28102 Thursday, 7 October 2021 A fly and sail cruise”

My steady 30 minute solve has a typo, so doesn’t properly count, but indicates that I found some of this on the tricky side. By my reading, we have two clues which could have alternative … Read more “28090 Thursday, 23 September 2021 A whiter shade”

The first word in this crossword grid gives a hint of what is to come, a veritable cornucopia of reverses, backing, turning, upward motion and the like almost persuading me it would be advantageous to … Read more “28078 Thursday, 9 September 2021 Stuck in reverse”

Quite a gentle offering this one, which is just as well because I’m celebrating my (our) 48th wedding anniversary in a pleasant hotel in Wales with a thankfully robust internet connection. A certain quantity of … Read more “28066 Thursday, 26 August 2021 Spurred on”

I found this toughish, taking an age to get going and scrambling through in all but 28 minutes. But it’s also a good cut above the average, with some very fine clues in the mix. … Read more “28054 Thursday, 12 August 2021 In the library with a candlestick”