Author: piquet

I see 84 contestants attempted this and 33 got it correct. So, not a piece of cake. I got it right eventually, but not under exam room presssure.I found this a game of two halves. … Read more “Times 27213 – TCC Heat 2: one of the three.”

Oh dear. I began this with high hopes, not of finishing in the 3 minutes or so remaining within my theoretical hour, but at least getting it right in 20 minutes. It started well, I … Read more “Times 27195 – TCC Heat 1 number three. Humbled again.”

Last week I assumed the first puzzle from the TCC offered in the paper would have been the first one of the three presented to contenders. Apparently it wasnt, it was the second one in … Read more “Times 27195 – TCC Heat 1 puzzle 1 or 3 (not sure which).”

Apparently 36 out of 90 entrants got this one correct, of whom 22 found time to finish the other two puzzles correctly in the hour or less. I was not feeling the brightest, having already … Read more “Times 27195 – TCC Heat 1 number one. No easy starter for me.”

I enjoyed this one. It has some novel wordplay, only two anagrams, a couple of cats, no obscure antelopes or plants, a bit of French geography, and a reference to one of my favourite bands. … Read more “Times 27189 – more of a cat’s breakfast.”

I didn’t dislike this puzzle, but wasn’t enjoying it a lot either; nothing was particularly obscure except 1a which was clear enough from wordplay, but somehow it seemed more like work than fun. I’m not … Read more “Times 27183 – word play and word work”

Another enjoyable mid range puzzle with one obscure (or for me, unknown) word (which wasn’t a foreign word clued as an anagram). Some nice word play and definitions, e.g. 28a, 30a, 19d. I thought the … Read more “Times 27177 – let’s give everyone an extra name, why not?”

A very enjoyable, medium level puzzle today, which had me going in the wrong direction several times, only to discover later I needed to see the clue from a different angle. Oddly, 1d was my … Read more “Times 27171 – don’t get led up the wrong garden path”

Even after four or more years of weekly Wednesdays, I still look forward to producing a blog, hoping it will test and titillate me (and you) and occasionally involve learning something new. Yesterday’s was a … Read more “Times 27165 – have I done the right puzzle?”

A jolly romp of a puzzle with lots of DDs and anagrams to get your teeth into. All but a couple were done in 20 minutes, then the correct guess for 13a across had to … Read more “Times 27159 – more Double Definitions than a topless beach …”