Author: ulaca

A puzzle with enough trickiness to keep you on your toes, I thought. Not difficult, especially in the anagrams department, but with clues such as 6 and 25a, and 15 and 17d that demand the … Read more “Times 27685 – ‘Oly Anna!”

Very Mondayish, with lots of biffing, a smattering of chestnuts and one or two escapees from the Quickie. For all that, though, a fun, quirky and generally well-wrought puzzle, which held me up in my … Read more “Times 27673 – WHO’s THAT medical journal?!”

A very neat and tidy Monday puzzle, offering something for everyone without ever threatening towards the overtaxing. A few chestnuts, a trip down memory lane to one of Monty Python’s best known skits (SAY. NO. … Read more “Times 27661 – When Horryd Met the God-intoxicated Man”

…one more time. Nothing to scare the equines here. If I could get home in 17 minutes, then I am expecting PBs and fast times from our speed merchants. Here’s how it pans out… ACROSS … Read more “Times 27637 – Nice and easy does it…”

A gentle start to the week, which took me 15 minutes plus change. Nothing too difficult vocabulary, definition or parsing wise, and the easily misspelt word had the dodgy vowel handed to you on a … Read more “Times 27625 – David Duckham Remembered”

I started this one off like loo rolls flying off the shelves of Tesco, but was held up by a few pesky ones that the setter had shoved in to keep the speed merchants humble … Read more “Times 27613 – Vive la révolution!”

With an old (and therefore not known to all), but brilliant, book fairly clued (i.e. not as an anagram), this setter shows how to handle such things in an equitable way. Well done, sir! Or … Read more “Times 27601 – No ludicrous clues”

Definitely a cut above your average Monday in terms of difficulty, with one or two cunning definitions and a soupcon of tricky clueing. I staggered home in 34 minutes, just above my NITCH (for all … Read more “Times 27589 – Wot’s that thingummy?”

Despite a smattering of tricky vocab, the congruous nature of the literals made this a pretty straightforward Monday offering. Special thanks to the setter on two counts: evoking images of horryd at 1d and referencing … Read more “Times 27577 – Harmony and Prosperity?”

A bit of a skeletal blog, I’m afraid, as I have to attend a hastily arranged meeting with Louisa, the scary head of our newly established Projects and Administration Department. This was a workaday Monday … Read more “Times 27565 – Christopher Newport Meets Bo Peep”