Hurley usually gives us a nice balanced puzzle with some good anagrams and this one is no exception. I ran through it in five or six minutes ending with 12d; should have been an easy … Read more “Quick Cryptic No 374 by Hurley”
Author: piquet
Quick Cryptic No 373 by Orpheus – quick blog too, rivers everywhere.
Standing in at short notice for Macavity, so please excuse any brevity or indeed the tedium of seeing me again tomorrow. I’d normally be on the fifteenth by now but thunder and torrential rain are … Read more “Quick Cryptic No 373 by Orpheus – quick blog too, rivers everywhere.”
Times 26175 – Biffer’s bonanza
I’m in a hurry again today, have to leave shortly; solving the puzzle correctly took me twenty-five minutes, but I have to confess, as I write this little intro I have not fully parsed two … Read more “Times 26175 – Biffer’s bonanza”
Quick Cryptic No 369 by Dazzler – two kinds of turtle, so neat.
A tricky little puzzle for those wishing to graduate to red runs from the cryptic nursery slopes; nothing unfair or obscure but some grown-up wordplay and a big anagram. 19d led me to a long … Read more “Quick Cryptic No 369 by Dazzler – two kinds of turtle, so neat.”
Times 26169 – more haste less speed
I started this early in an attempt to have it done and blogged before setting off for a routine doctor’s visit, as there can be a long wait once there. All went swimmingly well; with … Read more “Times 26169 – more haste less speed”
Quick Cryptic No 364 by Flamande
A straightforward puzzle with clues all on a similar level, no obscure words and no new tricks. One definition 20a I found a little strange, but the wordplay is clear. Across 1 SET ASIDE – … Read more “Quick Cryptic No 364 by Flamande”
Times 26163
Another of those puzzles which at first read over the tea and toast looked rather impenetrable, but once the unscrambling began it flowed well and took me half an hour or so without rushing; one … Read more “Times 26163”
Quick Cryptic No 359 by Teazel
I managed this among the holiday chaos, in ten minutes or so. It’s a prime example of the setters art, with plenty of concise clues, not as exceptional or witty as Wednesday’s No L special … Read more “Quick Cryptic No 359 by Teazel”
Times 26157
Firstly, thanks to my moustachioed verbose blogger friend Verlaine, for covering for me last week. I’m still on holiday, but managed to wake early enough to grab half an hour of P & Q before … Read more “Times 26157”
Quick Cryptic No 354 by Hurley
Maybe because I’m on holiday with little or no time away from the young ones, I found this a mite trickier than the usual Friday puzzle. In retrospect there’s nothing unfair or obscure, but Mr … Read more “Quick Cryptic No 354 by Hurley”