Author: talbinho

Solving time: 6:41 This wasn’t as hard as my first, fruitless minute suggested. The top left was probably my slowest corner, so anyone who managed to get either 1ac or 1dn on first look may … Read more “23,499 – Something For The Weekday”

Solving time: About 8 minutes with a 45 minute power nap half way through (it’s been one of those days…). Most of this was fairly straightforward but 22ac and 12dn stumped me at first. * … Read more “23,493 – Fine until the 22dn”

Solving time: 11:48 I didn’t find this easy, partly because there were a few words or references that I didn’t know, partly because some of the clues were beautifully misleading, but I’m not sure which … Read more “23,490 – Ee bah gum”

Solving time: 5:35 This might have been trickier for overseas solvers, with references including Lewis Carroll [sort of!], Gilbert & Sullivan and (naturally) cricket. Beginners’ tips of the day – ‘garland’ = LEI, ‘stolen’ = … Read more “23,487 – A very English crossword”

Solving time: Gave up after 25 mins or so with one missing (9ac) and two wrong (10ac, 24ac). Had a good start on this one but got bogged down and spent the last 15 minutes … Read more “23,481 – 9ac gave me the 9ac”

Solving time: 6:51 Most of this puzzle was very straightforward as the clues were packed with clichés and most definitions were transparent. However, a few difficult words slowed me down: in particular, I didn’t know … Read more “23,476 – Christmas gift”

Solving time: 12:34 Sometimes, if you do something regularly at a particular time in the day, and you then try to do it at a different time of day, it’s harder to get into the … Read more “23,470 – True Blue”

Solving time: 8:46 A mixed bag today, including a few old chestnuts, but I seemed to look at the harder clues first – on two or three occasions I spent 10-15 secs on a clue, … Read more “23,464 – Not caught out; if only Flintoff, Jones et al could say the same…”