This followed a familar pattern for me in that I solved all but a handful of clues within a gnat’s whisker of my target 30 minutes but then ground to a halt and needed nearly … Read more “Times Cryptic 26900”
Author: jackkt
Times Cryptic 26894
I found this one quite hard work and needed 55 minutes to complete it, but thankfully without resort to aids as there were no difficult words or references. As usual definitions are underlined in bold … Read more “Times Cryptic 26894”
Times Quick Cryptic 970 by Mara
This one took me 2 minutes over my target 10 because I had a complete blank on my last one in, 13ac, which on reflection now seems quite inexplicable. I thought this was mostly straightforward … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic 970 by Mara”
New Times Update!
For those who may not have seen this posted in the Times Crossword Club Forum. The great news is that new puzzles now print in a decent size font with light grey squares. And this … Read more “New Times Update!”
Times Cryptic 26888
The return to my original TftT userpic marks the 10th anniversary this week of my first blog which hardly seems possible as I didn’t start with much confidence and wasn’t sure I’d manage to last through … Read more “Times Cryptic 26888”
Times Cryptic 26882
This was off the scale for me (95 minutes if you really want to know). There was a lot of very fine misdirection e.g. ‘around’ in 10ac which could have signalled anagram, containment or reversal but … Read more “Times Cryptic 26882”
Times Quick Cryptic 960 by Joker
This one took me 10 minutes. I was expecting to complete it well within my target 10 but only just made it because of a hold-up at the end over 3dn. I thought of STAGE … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic 960 by Joker”
Times Cryptic 26876
This one delayed me for 44 minutes. Much of it was straightforward but I became bogged down over five clues, all on the right-hand side. There were two words unknown to me, one was the answer at … Read more “Times Cryptic 26876”
Times Cryptic 26870
It’s Tuesday but this is another Monday puzzle judging by the time it took me to solve which was only 37 minutes. There’s one UK-centric acronym that may cause some head-scratching beyond these shores (and … Read more “Times Cryptic 26870”
Times Quick Cryptic 950 by Tracy
This one took me 7 minutes and I think it’s towards the easier end of the spectrum and may suit those who have found recent QCs a little on the hard side. I hope so anyway. … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic 950 by Tracy”