Solving time: 8:23 This felt harder work than the time might suggest, so maybe I was in good form today – I finished faster than one or two people on the Club leaderboard who have … Read more “24715”
Author: petebiddlecombe
Now we are five …
Five years ago today, this announcement with brief comments on the day’s puzzle started off the cottage industry of blogging broadsheet cryptic crosswords. (Rather like cryptic crosswords themselves, I’d seen something similar done in the … Read more “Now we are five …”
24709
Solving time: 10:12 Near enough exactly average difficulty for this one – a mixture easy and difficult clues, with the trickiest ones for me in the SW – 13 and 26. Across 1 SCHNAPPS – … Read more “24709”
Mephisto 2621 – Tim Moorey
A fairly easy Mephisto, finished in about 40 minutes, using Chambers to complete 9D and the SW corner, but with a wrong answer at 24 and a bit of puzzlement at 22. Apologies for the … Read more “Mephisto 2621 – Tim Moorey”
24703 – don’t miss this one
Solving time: 7:31 This was a fairly straightforward puzzle – possibly my quickest Times cryptic since doing them online as my normal routine. Still room for improvement, as I typed 15D incorrectly (or “iignorantly” if … Read more “24703 – don’t miss this one”
Telegraph v. Times – a crossword website comparison
This is a quick comparison of the UK’s two pay sites for broadsheet cryptic crosswords, following recent changes at the Times Crossword Club site, and a change of name for the Telegraph one – now … Read more “Telegraph v. Times – a crossword website comparison”
Sloggers and Betters 7
I’m announcing this rather later than usual, for which I apologise. For two reasons, S & B 7 will take place on Wednesday 1st December. The first reason is that “Uncle Yap” (yfyap in contributions … Read more “Sloggers and Betters 7”
24697 – Championship Preliminary Round 2, Puzzle 3
Solving time: about 10 minutes Like the other puzzles in prelim 2, I solved this one late on the Sunday night. I failed to record my time in the usual way, so this is a … Read more “24697 – Championship Preliminary Round 2, Puzzle 3”
Self-promotion
Step over to the Church Times for my second puzzle to be published there, as edited by Don Manley. This time half the clues survived unchanged (about a third on the first one, I think). … Read more “Self-promotion”
Jumbo 895
Solved in 16:50 online but with a classic overhasty solver’s cock-up which you’ll be reading about soon. Across 1 CHAT = talk, HAM = act extravagantly – William Pitt was the First Earl of Chatham, … Read more “Jumbo 895”