Can it really be? December 7th? Jeepers, I hope that flying over from San Francisco for a long weekend then will be within my price range. In any case, this felt like a championship-strength puzzle … Read more “Times 27,467: Champy Days Are Here Again”
Author: Verlaine
Times 27,461: Jumping Through Your Limited Quota of Friday Hoops
I ended up not enjoying this one very much, the clues too often feeling like the fairly bland fare that is the staple of weekend Jumbos, but I can’t say it didn’t beat me: I … Read more “Times 27,461: Jumping Through Your Limited Quota of Friday Hoops”
Times Cryptic Jumbo 1399: If Life Seems Jolly Rotten, There’s Something You’ve Forgotten!
About as straightforward as Jumbos get, which was just as well when I hadn’t realised my weekend had come around again so soon. FOI 1ac, LOI 56ac as it took a while for me to … Read more “Times Cryptic Jumbo 1399: If Life Seems Jolly Rotten, There’s Something You’ve Forgotten!”
Times 27,455: Live Free Or Dipole
I am suffering from blogger’s glum because I’d completed a fairly extensive write-up of this one… which got eaten beyond my powers of retrieval when I clicked on the “Post” button. Such is life! I … Read more “Times 27,455: Live Free Or Dipole”
Times 27,449: Surface Pro
There’s nothing *too* elaborate about the cluing in this puzzle, providing one can handle multiple flipped containment indicators (knife left cuts, &c), but the surfaces are all so smooth that it is quite often difficult … Read more “Times 27,449: Surface Pro”
Monthly Club Special 20,227: TLS of the Unexpected
Hello from PDX! Our Airbnb is very nice, with antlered animal skulls arrayed all around the living room, with a real stuffed jackalope head taking pride of place! Very homely. Anyway I thought this was … Read more “Monthly Club Special 20,227: TLS of the Unexpected”
Times 27,443: Time For A Holiday?
I think the setter may be trying to suggest we all take a hopefully well-deserved vacation in this one: 11ac, 12ac, 17ac, 25ac, 13dn, 18dn and more put that idea into MY head, anyway. Just … Read more “Times 27,443: Time For A Holiday?”
Times 27,437: Double Def Con One
I didn’t enjoy this puzzle nearly as much as it deserved due to coming to it all steamed up from Abettergate in the QC, but it was really rather good, with lots of very assured … Read more “Times 27,437: Double Def Con One”
Times Cryptic Jumbo 1394: Mental Callixenics
This blog is late and I am unable to confirm or deny rumours that it’s because I’ve taken all this time trying to parse 24dn. But what a clue! One for the hall of fame, … Read more “Times Cryptic Jumbo 1394: Mental Callixenics”
Keats And Yeats Are On Your Side, Oscar Wilde Is On Mine
I mostly really enjoyed this proper Friday fare, with its nods Shakespearean, Shavian and Orwellian and its take-no-prisoners attitude to cluing classical words and phrases with anagrams… lots of this kind of thing in the … Read more “Keats And Yeats Are On Your Side, Oscar Wilde Is On Mine”