Solving time: 76 mins, mostly with Chambers I found this considerably harder than most Mephistos, though this may just be down to luck of the draw – three or four obscurities that you happen to … Read more “Mephisto 2486 – Tim Moorey”
Author: petebiddlecombe
Olla podrida
This is an experimental message for the benefit of people with questions that don’t fit elsewhere, or about old postings that you don’t expect people to still be reading (specially folks doing syndicated versions of … Read more “Olla podrida”
23895 – toponyms
Solving time 5:40 Started quickly and hoped to dip under 5 mins for a while, but didn’t quite make it. Maybe easier for the geographically savvy, with three place names. Across 1 HORS(D)E,COMBAT = “to … Read more “23895 – toponyms”
A bit of crossword history
Back in 1968, Stephen Sondheim (yes, the famous one) had a go at introducing the US to cryptic crosswords. (Someone else had tried back in the 1940s, but that attempt produced the Puns and Anagrams … Read more “A bit of crossword history”
23889 – party animals
Solving time 8:10 After finding the Mad Hatter at 1D and the March Hare at 6D I was waiting for the dormouse to turn up, but he (or she? – I can’t recall whether its … Read more “23889 – party animals”
Times 23880 – Sat 5th April
Solving time: say 25 minutes linxit is busy, so you’ve got me for this one. Solved in bits during the orchestral rehearsal for the South Bucks Choral Society performance of Samson last Saturday. I like … Read more “Times 23880 – Sat 5th April”
23883
Solving time 8:32 A minute or so on RETRENCH at the end made up for earlier luck on ANCESTRAL and TRIERARCH. Speed and commentsI was pleased to see a comment on yesterday’s puzzle from Times2 … Read more “23883”
Sloggers and Betters 4 – photos
Pictures are at: http://picasaweb.google.com/fifteensquaredI’m about to add comments to them to identify people.
More than you ever want to know about grids
Last week we had a slight delay on a report when the Times website had no grid for a puzzle. To get round this if it happens again (or the more likely ‘wrong grid’ problem), … Read more “More than you ever want to know about grids”
Championships – closing dates and more …
Dates given in the championship entry details today: Puzzle Published Entries postmarked no later than Solution published Qualifier 1 Thu April 3 Thu April 10 Fri April 11 Qualifier 2 Thu May 1 Thu May … Read more “Championships – closing dates and more …”