Author: rolytoly

A lovely puzzle from Hurley. At 9 minutes I was a minute slower than yesterday done just before, except I had one wrong at 11ac, which is what I get for trying to be too … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic No 2008 by Hurley”

A very pleasant puzzle of about average difficulty from Mara: I came in a notch under 9 minutes, held up briefly at the end with 18ac. It seemed like there were a lot of references … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic No 1998 by Mara”

I spent a long time staring at my final two (5d and 10ac) before taking a break, and saw them fairly quickly on my return. So 13-ish minutes, in total, if you don’t include the … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic No 1948 by Tracy”

Possibly a touch on the gentle side of average difficulty today. I say possibly: I seem to be solving better than usual at the minute and took 6:33, around a minute quicker than yesterday’s done … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic No 1938 by Trelawney”

11 minutes, with four of those spent – for no good reason – on 9ac, 7d and correcting 12ac. A fine puzzle with good clues aplenty, my favourite I think being 18ac – many thanks … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic No 1878 by Teazel”

A gentler one today from Teazel, if you’re prepared to do a bit of shrugging-and-entering along the way. Three cryptic definitions and two cryptic hints felt a touch excessive (and I do like a good … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic No 1868 by Teazel”

I had one of those frustrating solves – not often a fault of the setter – where you rattle through most of it before getting stuck on the last one or two clues: here I … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic No 1778 by Orpheus”

Bit of a chewy one today from Izetti: I did yesterday’s just beforehand in 7 minutes and this in 13. I was held up slightly at the end at 6d/16ac, but the grid was half … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic No 1768 by Izetti”

A couple of tricky bits in this very neatly-worded puzzle from Teazel – at nine minutes it took a minute longer than Tuesday’s done just beforehand. Good, concise clues with smooth surfaces made for a … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic No 1758 by Teazel”

Rongo is one of our more occasional setters, having appeared every six months or so for at least the last couple of years. I didn’t bother searching further back than that. Previous puzzles seem to … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic No 1748 by Rongo”