I thought this was going to be pretty quick work until the SW corner, where I got well bogged down by the cricketing parlance at 13dn and the unknown word at 15dn… where I had … Read more “Times 28,223: Cored Almighty”
Author: Verlaine
Times Cryptic Jumbo 1539: The Crossword Your Crossword Could Smell Like
I thought this a very superior specimen of the Jumbonic art, lots of really good lift-and-separates and surfaces with the definition part well and misleadingly concealed within. The first row went pretty much straight in … Read more “Times Cryptic Jumbo 1539: The Crossword Your Crossword Could Smell Like”
Times 28,211: Forster, Forester, Fortissimo
I did like this puzzle quite a bit though it did seem to have the flaw of a LOT of answers biffable from the enumerations: I’m looking at you, 1ac, 12ac, 22ac, maybe even 9ac. … Read more “Times 28,211: Forster, Forester, Fortissimo”
Times 28,205: Anyone For Tennis?
I was slowed down a little bit, a little bit in the SE where 20dn followed. by 22ac were the two last to fall, but overall there weren’t many speedbumps in this tractable puzzle. I … Read more “Times 28,205: Anyone For Tennis?”
Monthly Club Special 20,256: 23ac Goo Goo
A common, plaintive question about doing the MCS is “am I really supposed to be solving this without any aids?” and I would like to go out on a limb and answer that in the … Read more “Monthly Club Special 20,256: 23ac Goo Goo”
Times 28,199: 4m50s From Paddington
After a really tough and interesting puzzle in the middle of the week, I thought to myself or may even have said out loud, “well that’s that then, Friday’s is going to be no great … Read more “Times 28,199: 4m50s From Paddington”
Times 28,193: Come-To-Bed Hs
No complaints about the Fridayishness of this. Lots of interesting words containing many Scrabble letters (though the puzzle is a nongram, for lack of an X), and a lot of clues requiring careful unteasing of … Read more “Times 28,193: Come-To-Bed Hs”
Times Cryptic Jumbo 1534: To Those Who Wait
I honestly don’t know what happened to me at New Year’s 2022 – possibly alien abduction. This was a very straightforward puzzle though, unlikely to exacerbate any hangovers. My COD was 29ac – actually I … Read more “Times Cryptic Jumbo 1534: To Those Who Wait”
Times 28,187: When Are We Going To See Petroleum V. Nasby In A Puzzle?
An odd puzzle where I started off very very fast but was never going to finish in record time, thanks to Very Hard Words like 4ac and a couple of 4-letter-words with tough cluing, probably … Read more “Times 28,187: When Are We Going To See Petroleum V. Nasby In A Puzzle?”
Times 28,181: Never Look A TGIF Horse In The Mouth
Way too straight-down-the-line for the first Friday of 2022, setting a dangerous precedent, but I did enjoy this, especially for the three Romance language answers – those GCSEs and A-levels were not entirely in vain. … Read more “Times 28,181: Never Look A TGIF Horse In The Mouth”