Author: plusjeremy

This was an excellent puzzle, which I enjoyed bashing my head against at the time, and enjoyed even moreso while writing the blog.

24:30 for a puzzle which I found quite enjoyable, and neither too easy nor too hard. I imagine I’m on the slower side today, because I seemingly cannot finish a puzzle in under 20 minutes anymore, but nevertheless I felt at home with the clues, which is a welcome change for me.

40:52 for a challenging and very enjoyable puzzle. I worked hard, and in the end, everything was gettable.

DNF. I think a lot of the wordplay here was quite tricky (more lifting and separating than you might find in a pilates class), but I fairly raced through this one until I got to the upper-left corner. After 15 minutes of beard-scratching, I still wasn’t able to get 1 Across or Down, so I threw in the towel.

24:35, a time which reflects more confusion rather than any real difficulty. Several answers I just shrugged and went with, after a minute or two of not being able to figure the clue out.

26:22, although I spent far too long dithering over my last two entries, not really being able to parse them. I’m filling in for William this week, writing this blog from the misty woods of Phoenicia, NY, where we are enjoying cooler than usual weather. I found this puzzle to be gentle, though not without interest. A fitting conclusion to a week of hiking and board games with friends and family.

DNF. Most of this puzzle was easy, but to finish it required a bunch of UK-specific knowledge. In the end, two clues in the upper-right corner undid me. I solved this puzzle in the throes of Covid, but I don’t blame the virus for my poor performance!

11:58, reflecting a gentler offering which was much appreciated after both the heat wave this week, as well the difficulty of my last several blog puzzles. I enjoyed this greatly: excellent clues through and through! Though now that I’ve had my rest, I feel ready for a challenge again!

100 minutes for this very hard puzzle! Sunburnt and tired from a day at the beach (it was Independence Day here in the US), I pushed myself to finish this puzzle far beyond what seemed reasonable.

DNF, consisting of 13 minutes to solve all but one clue, and then 15+ more minutes to not solve that clue.