Author: william_j_s

I hope I’m not alone in finding this one quite tricky. There is plenty to get you started, including several short answers and two hidden words (although one is cleverly obfuscated by brackets), and yet … Read more “Quick Cryptic Number 317 by Tracey”

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”