Author: Verlaine

Somewhat exemplary fare this morning – neat and tidy construction, convincing surfaces, all fair to the solver without any vocab or general knowledge demands likely to prove controversial. I have to confess that when confronted … Read more “Times 26,111: My Blog Has No Nose. How Does It Smell?”

“So how long did it take you to finish Richard Rogan’s puzzle this week?”“Tuesday.”“No, I said…”“Yes, I heard you. Tuesday. All of it.” Quite a memorable week for the Times Cryptic with the aforementioned puzzle … Read more “Times 26,105: How Green Was My Wake-Up Call”

I’ve been feeling a bit sluggish on the solving times lately, possibly because of an aching jaw since one of my fillings orchestrated a daring escape from its cell a week ago; so I was … Read more “Times 26,099: A Bad Wordsman Blames His Tooth”

Oh go on then, I might as well post this now, given that I’m still up and watching that which must not be mentioned on TV. I stopped the clock on this very serviceable puzzle … Read more “Times 26,093: Pangram Denied”

After two weeks of being vilely bronchial I wasn’t much looking forward to my Friday morning blogging duties, but on Thursday night I forced myself to get back in the game by going out and … Read more “Times 26,087: The Threesome Laws of Robotics”

It is a sad and reduced verlaine you see before you today – for the past week I’ve been all but confined to my bed, tossing and turning in the throes of fevers and hallucinations, … Read more “Times 26,081: Not Very 8D 15D”

Thirteen minutes on the nose to solve this puzzle: unlucky for some, but not for me, as being an inveterate classicist I was as happy as an Ithacan pig earmarked for a homecoming feast. Guest … Read more “Times 26,075: Column By Column In A Cloud Of Dust”

What a good week it’s been for Times crosswords – five for five that I’ve really enjoyed, and naturally it didn’t hurt that my time on this one ended up at 10 and a half … Read more “Times 26,069: The Monotreme With No Name”

I entered into debate earlier this week about the generally held opinion that the Friday puzzle is, on average, harder than the rest; today’s did nothing much to help convince me that this is the … Read more “Times 26,063: If Solving Be The Food Of Love”

Perhaps it’s just that the existential dread that fills any parent on the first day of the holidays is getting to me, but I’m not sure I have *too much* to say about this very … Read more “Times 26,057: Slowly Walking Down The Hall”