Author: vinyl1

Time: 32 minutesMusic: Dave Brubeck, Time Further Out This was a trickier puzzle than you might expect for a Monday, and if you are missing a few pieces of obscure knowledge you might easily get … Read more “Times 27211 – Food for thought”

Time: 20 minutesMusic: Steve Hillage, Fish Rising This was an easy Monday for experienced solvers.   Most of the clues use stock cryptic elements in very predictable ways, and the definitions are relatively straightforward.   Those who … Read more “Times 27199 – Left luggage?”

There will be no time and no music today, because I had to solve this on the train on the way home from New York City, and I had to give up after an hour … Read more “Times 27187 – Torcher, say?”

Time: 27 minutesMusic: Carol of Harvest This is a puzzle that might seem difficult at first, but yields easily if you trust the cryptics.   Even if the answer is a word you are only vaguely … Read more “Times 27175 – Put on your nightcap and try a little bit”

Time: 35 minutesMusic: Mingus Ah Um This one was a bit of a biff-fest, as some of the wordplay was rather questionable and many of the answers were quite obvious.  There are a number of … Read more “Times 27163 – All you ever get from me!”

Time: 63 minutesMusic: Magic Lady, Mandy Morton and the Spriguns Yes, a bit of a shock for a Monday puzzle.   This should not really have been as difficult as I made it, but the general … Read more “Times 27151 – A dragonfly flew by, perhaps….”

Time: 45 minutesMusic: Stan Getz, Sweet Rain My time may not seem that great, but my last 30 minutes were spent on a single clue.   If I had happened to see it right away, then … Read more “Times 27139 – Weakness? What weakness?”

Time: 30 minutes, more or less, interrupted by a phone call from my brotherMusic: Stan Getz, Reflections I just happened to notice that this was a Bank Holiday puzzle, and was fearing the worst.  Fortunately, … Read more “Times 27127 – Syracuse, not Thebes”