Author: ulaca

A puzzle with enough quirk to keep things interesting, with one word ready to take its place in the competition for ugliest word in English alongside moron, bigot, numeronym (thanks to Paul in the comments) … Read more “Times 27241 – Et Tu, Duodecime!”

What a pleasant way to ease into Christmas week! We have Santa thinly(?) disguised as the villainous Geoffrey Howe, a bit of Welsh crumpet, who would surely have indulged in a spot of extravehicular activity … Read more “Times 27229 – Felicem nativitatem!”

I have said it before and no doubt I will say it again, but this was a very Mondayish type of puzzle, offering much to biffers and erudite personages alike. If a little too sciency … Read more “Times 27217 – Race against the cloche?”

Looking at the early submissions, it would seem I was on the wavelength for this one, coming home in 16:24. It has a bit of an old-fashioned whiff about it, which certainly plays into my … Read more “Times 27205 – Bunker meets Keats?”

To be honest, I was well stuffed by this one, albeit beaten by two rare words and one where I was looking for the wrong bit of underwear. Yes – one of the those days. … Read more “Times 27193 – Epic Fails”

I’m in a Steinbeck phase at the moment as I make my tour of 20th century American literature, and if there’s anyone out there who has missed him, as I had, then if you like … Read more “Times 27181 – Nice and easy does it”

Well, I struggled mightily with this, getting one wrong and needing to cheat on two, while managing to nod off as well. There were certainly some difficult words, including a medical term I’d never heard … Read more “Times 27169 – Monster Monday”

I solved this while watching the Ryder Cup so don’t have a meaningful time, but I felt that this was a bit trickier than an average Monday. Certainly, there were some very serviceable clues here, … Read more “Times 27157 – Everything but a Norwegian Blue”

A typical Monday offering, combining lightness of touch with well-crafted clueing. Not the easiest, but one for those wishing to migrate from the Quickie to have a stab at. 28 minutes plus change for me. … Read more “Times 27145 – Play Opus?”

This was the antithesis to Saturday’s magnificent beast. That’s not to say that it didn’t have merits of its own, but that they were not of the order of mind-bending intricacy displayed by that puzzle. … Read more “Times 27133 – A Tribute to Dame Frances Margaret”