I kept feeling there was some sort of message in this thing, what with two unlikely Presidents of the US of A (one past and strangely rather fondly remembered), and one yet to be. The … Read more “26350 And I believe that the devil is ready to repent! But..”
Author: Zabadak
26338 Cutting through the red tape.
A respectable 18.11 derailed by a rather spectacular mondegreen (even if I do say so myself). Up to that point of discovery, on something like the third or fourth careful check, I rather enjoyed this … Read more “26338 Cutting through the red tape.”
26326 “No, it’s right I’m sure. It fits in with ‘delirium’ and ‘Baluchistan’.”
A bit of a Brief Encounter this one, at least in my terms, at 13.56. It’ll be interesting to see how rapid a fill it is for others, though my experience this week is that … Read more “26326 “No, it’s right I’m sure. It fits in with ‘delirium’ and ‘Baluchistan’.””
26314 I love the smell of napalm in the morning.
20.07, with quite a lot of time making sure the parsing was right in this tricky little number. Another grid with a bit of a TLS feel to it, what with vaguely defined stageworks and … Read more “26314 I love the smell of napalm in the morning.”
26302 Good grief, Penfold, I think I know where he’s hiding!
18.17 got me home on this one, but that did include being a good scout and actually parsing everything. I also lost time looking for my lucky penny so that I could get 5 right … Read more “26302 Good grief, Penfold, I think I know where he’s hiding!”
26290 Not a creature was stirring…the crossword grid as mantlepiece
In truth, when I did this puzzle, it wasn’t the night befpre Christmas, but for some of you doing it later in the 24 hour spread it may be, and we certainly have an appropriate … Read more “26290 Not a creature was stirring…the crossword grid as mantlepiece”
26278, in which much is owed to Billy Joe, Gollum, J. R. Hartley, and Shakespeare
….not to mention Herman Melville, Jill Mansell, Michael Crichton and Harriet Beecher Stowe. And the man who wrote “any time not spent on love is wasted.” Which rather puts us logophiles firmly in our place, … Read more “26278, in which much is owed to Billy Joe, Gollum, J. R. Hartley, and Shakespeare”
26266 Reduced price offer in advance of Black Friday: a farthing for a clue.
22 minutes and 4 seconds, so dragging my feet somewhat. This was a crossword where, I think more than usually, you had to pay very close attention to where the dividing lines in the clues … Read more “26266 Reduced price offer in advance of Black Friday: a farthing for a clue.”
26254 (thanks sawbill) Walter Mitty meets Jo McCarthy in “What’s My Lie?”
Not a particularly difficult one – 15 minutes and 1 second for me, including the usual search for typos and justification of wordplay just to be sure. Plenty of wit to go around, which, together … Read more “26254 (thanks sawbill) Walter Mitty meets Jo McCarthy in “What’s My Lie?””
26242 In which quick grown hoaxes junk ogre lazy dogs
A 22.35 solve for me, which puts it in the mildly tricky class, possibly stretched a bit by needing to be sure of understanding everything before submitting in case any of you had queries. The … Read more “26242 In which quick grown hoaxes junk ogre lazy dogs”