31:14 on the Club timer, which suggests this was a bit trickier than average (backed up by comparison with the other times on the leaderboard, though it’s always slightly harder than usual to tell at … Read more “Jumbo 1032”
Author: topicaltim
Times 25,456
14:20 suggests mid-range difficulty; decent, if not madly exciting puzzle, though there were at least a couple of occasions where I raised a metaphorical eyebrow. Across 1 KELVIN – Large in KEVIN. 4 SKEWBALD – … Read more “Times 25,456”
Times 25,444
Ouch. Clocked in at 22:59, and really had to work hard at wrestling this one into submission, especially in the bottom half, with 19ac last in, on wordplay only. A wavelength thing, or a puzzle … Read more “Times 25,444”
Jumbo 1027
27:14 on the Club timer, which would normally indicate a not-too-difficult puzzle; however, this one had its fair share of slightly obscure vocabulary – not Mephisto-level obscure, but above average for a Jumbo, certainly. However, … Read more “Jumbo 1027”
Times 25432
14:14 on the Club timer, so somewhere in the middle of the difficulty scale, and pleasantly constructed without being too obscure in any regard. Meanwhile, all I asked of England this evening was that they … Read more “Times 25432”
Times 25,420
13:03 on the Club timer, so nothing too demanding here by that measure. Solid, nicely put together puzzle, though; where clues needed more careful analysis, the wordplay seemed perfectly clear in leading the solver down … Read more “Times 25,420”
Jumbo 1022
I was struck by technological disaster last week, as my laptop died shortly after I posted Tuesday’s blog (and I am obviously thankful that it was shortly after, rather than shortly before). As we were … Read more “Jumbo 1022”
Times 25,408
15:04 on the Club timer; as this included the usual blogger’s Extra Time, spent checking I was at least 90% certain on my parsing of everything before submitting, I think we can classify this as … Read more “Times 25,408”
Times 25,396
14:32 on the club timer; I banged in 1 across and 6 across straight away, which always settles the blogger’s nerves, and after that it all went smoothly and enjoyably, apart from a brief hold … Read more “Times 25,396”
Times 25,384
12:34 on the club timer; I note that the leaderboard shows Magoo in soft-boiled egg territory, and lots of other people already posting very fast times, so I expect this to be reflected in comments … Read more “Times 25,384”