Special information for this week: 5D in 23663: On the basis of Google searches, if you had GARBAGE BAG instead of GARBAGE CAN, you can count it as a right answer for this competition. I’m … Read more “Unofficial Times cryptic RTC contest No. 2 – your solving times please”
Author: petebiddlecombe
23,662 – fiendish
Solving time 25:46 As tough for me as for some others…. Across 5 BABYSAT – I nearly slipped into the wrong ‘babysit’ but then saw the significance of ‘minded’, past tense. 9 ELMER GANTRY – … Read more “23,662 – fiendish”
Mephisto 2446
Solving time: about 2 hours with C used from the start This will teach me to leave Mephistos unstarted on the Sunday! It turned out to be very tough, with lots of stuff that was … Read more “Mephisto 2446”
Unofficial Times cryptic RTC contest No. 1 – results
With consistently good times for the mid-week puzzles that slowed most people down, this was an easy win for Mark Goodliffe who wins the inaugural star. Yours truly did consistently badly with these three, and … Read more “Unofficial Times cryptic RTC contest No. 1 – results”
Unofficial Times cryptic RTC contest No. 1 – your solving times please
In July 2007, someone commenting on Tony Sever’s Times 2 RTC blog suggested having a competition like RTC for the Times cryptic. The same request has been made more than once on the Times club … Read more “Unofficial Times cryptic RTC contest No. 1 – your solving times please”
23656 – very hard but very good
Solving time: 22:51 I found this one pretty tough – there’s almost nothing trivial, and lots of novel clues to keep even old hands sucking their pencils. Based on what looks like a setter’s “signature” … Read more “23656 – very hard but very good”
Jumbo 706
Solving time: about 25 mins Solved this at the airport or on the plane a fortnight ago and then forgot to keep it, so the time is a guesstimate. Some nicely done long anagrams and … Read more “Jumbo 706”
Racing the cryptic clock – Times for the week’s puzzles
[Minor changes to the system below are the result of suggestions in the comments. The first serious contest will be next week, based on your times for Puzzles from Sat 14 July to Friday 20 … Read more “Racing the cryptic clock – Times for the week’s puzzles”
23650 – a couple of minutes slow
Solving muscles are fairly well back in trim after doing most of the Times puzzles from my holiday last night, but I was still rather slow on 4,14,18,28 and 13. And turned out to have … Read more “23650 – a couple of minutes slow”
Mephisto 2442 report is now up
(don’t comment on this – it’s just a pointer that will be deleted in a day or two).