The second of the TCC semi-final puzzles, and I didn’t find it as hard as I’d expected, although there were two rather clumsy unknown words I had to construct and guess were correct.
Author: piquet
Times 28785 – not as the crow flies.
As promised, this was the first semi-final puzzle from the TCC on 21st October this year.
Times 28779 – a heavenly spread indeed.
I took far too long to do this one, almost an hour, but now I’m writing it up I wonder if it wasn’t that hard.
Times 28773 – top billing
A really good, quite difficult test, I thought, with several unusual words and some lateral thinking needed.
Times 28767 – don’t be foxed by this, it’s fun.
What an excellent Wednesday! I don’t know if this was the first of the three Championship semi-final puzzles; it took me just under half an hour to solve and parse, so beyond my 20 minute allowance; I thought it was great fun and very clever in places.
Times 28761 – the end of the beginning
The third and easiest of the three Championship “heats” puzzles, I thought, I saved a few minutes against my allowance of twenty for this one.
Times 28755 – we’re still warming up
The second puzzle in the heat of the Crossword Competition, I thought slightly less ‘hot’ than the first; I’d have just fitted it into a twenty-minute slot if pushed to hurry and skip some parsing.
Times 28749 – warming up in the heat
The 112 of you who entered the Championship (and managed to get there in spite of storm Babet) will recognise this one as the first puzzle of the three in the heat.
Times 28743 – not Memoirs of a Madman.
Nothing too stretchy in this offering, shorter on anagrams than the usual fare.
Times 28737 – ye gods and no little fishes
By Wednesday standards I thought this was a walk in the park.