Author: mctext

Solving time: 32:37 Got through three-quarters of this quite quickly, then ground to a complete halt in the NE corner (aka the Beta Quadrant). Had to guess a few answers then (FIREWOOD in particular) and … Read more “Times 25517: ‘I never a-touch dem’”

Solving time: 55:02 So, for me at least, a hard slog. Almost came to grief in the SE corner with four answers missing after 40-ish minutes. And still have one parsing to work through. Might … Read more “Times 25511: Purely academic”

Solving time: 24:17 Found the bottom half easier and started in the SW, proceeding anti-clockwise. A few giveaways today (10ac, 24ac, 26ac, 4dn, 21dn & 23dn perhaps). Most of the rest require a bit of … Read more “Times 25493: On the flat or over the sticks?”

Solving time: 21:16 It’s another pangram, which helped only a bit. Held up by trying too hard to parse as I went: a habit that would surely detract from the championship conditions which I hope … Read more “Times 25475 — 1st Championship Qualifier: R U game?”

Solving time: 22:23 I was fearing a stinker after a couple of easy days. And a brief look at the clues seemed to confirm my suspicion. But once started (with the simple 9ac), all went … Read more “Times 25481: Once a Jolly Drifter … Always a Jolly Drifter”

Solving time: About 30 minutes Don’t like the retro puzzles much; but it’s at least an indication of how times have changed in the cruciverbal world since I was about to come up to my … Read more “Times 10300: retro puzzle, May 1963”

Solving time: 28:09 Not a difficult puzzle, but with a few harder clues on the right-hand side. Helped here by a couple of repeat answers from recent puzzles. If you take out the crytpic and … Read more “Times 25457: Diet of coffee, tea, apples & pears”

Solving time: 39:12 The problem here was getting off the mark. Such tight cluing led, as I expected, to several double definitions. Six to be precise. Only one I couldn’t parse straight off, forgetting the … Read more “Times 25445: Only nine days late”

Solving time: 28:45 Not at all at my best this morning, perhaps as a result of Australia’s miserable showing against Oman in Sydney yesterday or perhaps from the drop in interest rates on my super. … Read more “Times 25433: What? No bra?”