Author: Zabadak

  I’m not particularly enthusiastic about my 21.12 time – I couldn’t get a foothold in the NW and went around the grid from the NE quarter, sometimes with only bit of answers entered. It … Read more “29146 Twinned with the New York Times?”

  I found a lot to like in the puzzle, not least a comfortable time of 17.02. Pretty well all through our setter has paid attention to the surface readings of the clues, and there … Read more “29134 Hold very tight please! Ting ting!”

  I’m not quite sure what to say about this. Early indications, and my careful, blog aware, time of 13.46 suggests that it’s not in the Tricky Thursday category. A large number of the clues … Read more “29122 Roll out the 1/4 barrel.”

  I rather think I should have been quicker than my 25.21, but I was held up by some of the cute misdirections, such as the Spooner clue and the one with the artful use … Read more “29110 Noel? Actually, there’s 15 of them.”

  What fun! A fine set of clues with some very slippery definitions and a broad range of languages, not just the normal French and occasional German. I can’t say I whizzed through: the whole … Read more “29098 Polyglot”

  It is possible that my view of this one is coloured by the discovery that I’m never going to win a spelling bee, the apparent disability nullifying what may yet prove to be a … Read more “29086 You don’t have to say you love me.”

Rather like the one I blogged six weeks ago, this one has a largely old-fashioned feel to it, not least with its evocation of a memorable Cleese, Barker and Corbett sketch  from The Frost Report … Read more “29074 Will you walk a little faster?”

  I thought I was doing well to get in just under 20 minutes, though I started in rather desultory fashion and spent too long dithering over the emperor, or possibly antique dominion at 5d. … Read more “29062 Not Cole’s law then.”

  At the time of writing, I am within a few ticks of my clockwork timing device of the average time for solving this at 12.25, and I rather suspect this will produce some PBs. … Read more “29050 Hello wonderful!”