Author: rolytoly

I think this was towards the harder end of things, so I was happy to come in at the 13 minute mark. Some tricky clues, some generous checker-providers, some cracking clues, and lots of lovely … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic No 738 by Mara”

I don’t know if it’s because I’ve had a bit more crossword practice of recent or if today’s was a gentler offering than most, but I was satisfyingly quick today. Would have been 8 minutes … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic No 728 by Flamande”

I was a bit under the 11 minute mark today, making it one of the quicker ones I’ve tried in a while – helped out by a few easy clues, a few familiar clues, and … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic No 718 by Hawthorn”

Well that wasn’t a great performance – a DNF with 3d remaining (and 2d unparsed, and 21ac queried) at the 18 min mark, after which I gave up and checked the answer. In fairness I … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic No 708 by Mara”

Having been on holiday for a couple of weeks, this was my first QC in a while, and a very nice one it was too. Average-ish difficulty I suppose, but with lots of satisfying clues … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic No 703 by Orpheus”

This was a lovely crossword. Tricky in parts, with the SW and NE corners taking me past the 15 minute mark, but lots of smooth surface readings and satisfying clues to solve along the way. … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic No 688 by Orpheus”

Another lovely puzzle from Izetti. Probably around par in terms of difficulty for this setter – I took a notch over 14 mins. I was delayed a bit by the NW, having a mental block … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic No 678 by Izetti”

A nice sprinkling of history in today’s tricky offering from Izetti. We had a Victorian cardinal, the First and Second World Wars, an old clan member (if we’re to stretch a point), and two references … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic No 668 by Izetti”

This was a lovely puzzle from Joker – a good range of difficulty in the clues and some very inventive ones to boot. I particularly liked 17ac: not a double definition, not a triple, not … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic No 658 by Joker”

I enjoyed this – nice devices and lots of good surface readings made it a smooth and satisfying solve. A minute over my target ten with 19d unparsed. Had I not been blogging, I would … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic No 648 by Corelli”