Author: william_j_s

Good fun – not a total giveaway for me, as I was held up by the eternal youth and the anagram at 22ac (which for some reason would not come to mind). I was glad … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic 1357 by Rongo”

A fairly straightforward solve, on the whole, but with some unfamiliar bits and bobs to keep me guessing (that meaning of pet, the paint, the king). Quite a few of the definitions are neatly disguised … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic 1347 by Joker”

I struggled accross the line in twice my normal time, and didn’t really get to enjoy much of it unitl writing the blog. I thought the last few down clues were really good fun, for … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic 1337 by Marty”

Joker continues this week’s run of mid-difficulty puzzles. Nothing jumped out to start with in the NW, so my FOI was 4dn, but one clue led to another nicely after that. I was thrown off … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic 1327 by Joker”

A lovely little crossword from Mara, with just the right amount of whimsy, general knowledge, crosswordese, chemistry, cricket, and the rest. I had one clue to fathom after solving (7dn) as I couldn’t decide which … Read more “Quick Cryptic 1317 by Mara”

Anagrams abound, which makes for an accessible grid. And nothing really obscure either (except possibly 8ac and 4dn), so I hope to see some satisfied customers today. There are some nice, cryptic-y, sideways definitions to … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic 1307 by Hurley”

A new setter, and some new vocabulary for me at 16dn. I found the bottom half harder than the top, and had to think a bit to untangle some of the wordplay, but still managed … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic 1297 by Aureliano”

I was a bit worried that I was in for a slog today, with none of 1ac, 1dn or 6dn jumping out at me, but things soon sped up. In the end, it would probably … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic 1287 by Pedro”

There’s a tongue-in-cheek tone to these clues that I enjoyed a lot while solving. The surfaces readings are witty and sensible at the same time, which is the highest acheivement for a setter in my … Read more “Quick Cryptic 1277 by Marty”

I stared for an age at my LOI 22ac, as I was playing around with ‘c’ (start of concert), ‘r’ (right) and some sort of word reversal (back). And I had a mistake at 17ac … Read more “Quick Cryptic 1267 by Orpheus”