Author: piquet

A jolly puzzle of moderate difficulty, a little risqué at times, good for biffing and with a few clues a bit more tricky to explain. Some nice smooth surfaces, notably 17a, 20a, 28a. FOI was … Read more “Times 27471 – Thick as a parrot.”

A moderate, rather anodyne puzzle today, nothing remarkable to note for me, it took 20 minutes or so. Liked the definition at 15a and the surface of 20a. Across 1 Misses collecting out-of-date sea awards … Read more “Times 27465 – not beyond the pale”

I needed cheering up after a disappointing (well, bad) round of golf in the rain. This puzzle cheered me up no end! It took 25 minutes, around my usual leisurely speed, with quite a few … Read more “Times 27459 – Banzai ! *rty-**rty sun-kist hedonists – that’s the stuff! More or less.”

If I had to pick one adjective to describe this puzzle, I’d say, straightforward. There is one word at 18a I didn’t know beforehand, but it’s deducible from the anagram fodder and the meaning. The … Read more “Times 27453 – see how the Fates their gifts allot”

I found this a curate’s egg of a puzzle; about half the clues seemed easy and flew in all across the grid, then it took another twenty minutes to polish it off with several not … Read more “Times 27447 – Oh the Times, oh the goings on; Cicero had it all right.”

I wonder if this is one of our esteemed regular setters deciding to give us a different treat, or a new chap or lady? Anyway, it’s decidedly different, requiring (ideally) some TLS type knowledge, and … Read more “Times 27441 – An egghead test today; am I reading the right paper?”

Another fine Wednesday puzzle, not a ‘love-it-or-hate-it was last week’s, but very enjoyable. Quite a mix of easy clues, BIFFable clues and ones requiring a modicum of GK to satisfy the judges without guesswork. The … Read more “Times 27435 – Latin, Greek, Turkish, Zulu and the billabong song.”

I loved this one. It’s quirky. Some of you probably hated it. It’s that kind of puzzle, I think. No dodgy words, a few smart definitions (6a, 13d, 17d for example), and only a couple … Read more “Times 27429 – the Marmite crossword?”

I enjoyed this one, it has a few chestnuts like 16d and 24a (apart from 10d) and is pleasantly witty in places. The chap at 27a did ring a faint bell, once I had the … Read more “Times 27423 – all kinds of everything remind me of something”

Having relocated reasonably smoothly to the Land of Hope and Glory, I was ready for a tough challenge and hoping to produce a witty, erudite blog, up to the standard of my excellent locum of … Read more “Times 27417 – back with a whimper”