Author: william_j_s

I was slow to get into the SE corner having been held up slightly by 6dn and 13ac. Overall, a puzzle of average difficulty, I thought. For a favourite, it was difficult to choose between … Read more “Quick Cryptic Number 307 by Mara”

This was quite a grown-up crossword, which for me felt in equal parts frustrating and revelatory – just as it should be! I had difficulty with some vocabulary at 16ac and 18ac, and one last … Read more “Quick Cryptic Number 297 by Teazel”

One or two minor obscurities, including for me a type of (horse) racing that required a guess and a legal term, but plenty of fun wordplay and a decent mix of clues. I settled in … Read more “Quick Cryptic Number 287 by Rongo”

Apologies for the delay in posting – with little hope of finding this puzzle in advance, Murphy’s law dictates that something will crop up in the morning. I found this fairly straightforward, except for two … Read more “Quick Cryptic Number 277 by Joker”

Despite being quite out of practice, I found this fairly easy to get into. The left hand side of the grid was a bit slower to click, with 1dn and 2dn eluding me the longest. … Read more “Quick Cryptic 267 by Tracy”

A mixed bag of gimmies and more challenging clues/parts; 17ac and 15dn, for example, went in without muchof an attempt to parse. There are certainly no unusual devices or devilishly obscure words, but I think … Read more “Quick Cryptic Number 254 by Flamande”

Nothing to trouble seasoned quickie solvers here, and a couple of cryptic definitions to get us novices thinking laterally. I thought many of the definition parts of clues were neat and well disguised, especially 16ac, … Read more “Quick Cryptic Number 234 by Orpheus”

Sorry for the delay in posting – I completely forgot to blog this last night and have had a heck of a morning. Roll on the weekend. This was a pleasant and straightforward puzzle with … Read more “Quick Cryptic Number 224 by Mara”

I really enjoyed this puzzle, which I found to be slightly more difficult than average. It just seems polished and neat, with many words used in unfamiliar and interesting ways. The material (that’s appeared here … Read more “Quick Cryptic Number 214 by Izetti”

Nothing too unusual or obscure here. Even if the geography or mythology are unfamiliar, the wordplay leaves very little room for error. I thought many of the down clues were elegant and witty, 3, 5, … Read more “Quick Cryptic Number 205 by Mara”