Solving time 4:30 I think that’s the appropriate quote from Reggie Perrin after ripping through this one on the train – personal best material for someone, perhaps. And nice for me to know after a … Read more “23638 – “Very easy today”, said Peter Cartwright”
Author: petebiddlecombe
Jumbo 703 – tough puzzle, long report
Solving time 33:50 As this took getting on for double my “Jumbo par” time and someone in comments has already mentioned its difficulty, it seems worth explaining more clues than usual. A good challenging puzzle … Read more “Jumbo 703 – tough puzzle, long report”
23632 – 2ing my 1A
Solving time 12:00 This felt a slightly better solving performance than a couple of recent slow times, but maybe Tony will be along later to say that he took 9 minutes. There are lots of … Read more “23632 – 2ing my 1A”
23626 – Not a 1A day
Solving time 5:45 A fairly straightforward puzzle except for some tricky stuff near the top. Across 1 WIN,TRY – a kind of weather that might produce cheer for 28 sufferers … Anything about n-point scores: … Read more “23626 – Not a 1A day”
At last the Mephisto 2438 show
Have now solved this puzzle which I might have done before my holidays if it had been on the Times club site in time. Solving time: say 2 hours, with Chamber used for the last … Read more “At last the Mephisto 2438 show”
Jumbo 696 – medium difficulty
Solving time 25:43 Quite a few clues to explain here. Grid is pangrammatic, but for a jumbo that should almost be compulsory… Across 1 UPKEEP = (peek,pu(t))<= 5 CU(e)S HI(d) ON(e) – deleted letters being … Read more “Jumbo 696 – medium difficulty”
23602 – we’re in the wordplay
Solving time 12:25 Seems like quite a tricky puzzle judging from the number of clues I decided to write about, though two blind alleys followed at 14 and 17 made it slower than it should … Read more “23602 – we’re in the wordplay”
Mephisto 2436 / Chris Feetenby
Solving time: about 45 mins, with C used for 2D and a daft blind spot on 21A. One or two hazy areas below where others may be able to improve on my understanding. Across 9 … Read more “Mephisto 2436 / Chris Feetenby”
Jumbo 695 – anyone’s quickest ever?
Solving time 13:13 Only a couple of minutes outside my 23×23 Jumbo record, and there were answers I felt I might have got quicker. So I wonder whether anyone set a PB with this… Across … Read more “Jumbo 695 – anyone’s quickest ever?”
23,596 – three faults?
Solving time 8:06 Some good stuff here but rather spoiled for me by three clues that seem not quite precise enough – unless Collins or COD (not available to me today) include stuff I don’t … Read more “23,596 – three faults?”