Category: Daily Cryptic

I found today’s puzzle such a pleasure to solve and do research for. There are some lovely and smooth surfaces and some of the devices employed are quite inventive and entertaining.  ACROSS1 ARMAGEDDON Armagh (Ulster … Read more “Times 24476 – Blogger’s Delight”

Solving time: 6:55 An easier puzzle than I was expecting today, though I was probably helped by some strange words remembered from barred-grid puzzles. Last to go in were these in the NW corner – … Read more “24475”

12:47 here, so I’ll take my life in my hands and definitively describe this as a nice even puzzle, with nothing overly demanding in terms of knowledge or wordplay. The trick, of course, with this … Read more “Times 24,474 – I’m All Right (I hope)”

Solving time: Let’s not go there For about fifteen minutes I thought I was going to do a Personal Best until I arrived on the banks of the Tyne and my mind became a complete … Read more “Times 24473 – Athlete’s foot in mouth”

Solving time: 5:18 I solved this online; sometimes I think it might be faster that way, but with this puzzle it was definitely slower because I spent about the last 90 seconds on the anagram … Read more “ST 4369 (Sat 21 Feb) – Jumble Sales”

45 minutes to solve this one though most of it was completed in 30 and I took the other 15 to sort out 18, 24,25 and 26. It was certainly a lively puzzle which I … Read more “Times 24471 – Fwightfully Fwivolous”

Solving time : 16 minutes, though I think it would be considerably faster if I was working from the printed version, I’m doing it online. Seemed a little more straightforward than the last two days, … Read more “Times 24470: a warm place for a vacation”

Solving time: 18:32 Solved late at night as I have to be away early tomorrow. Slowish start, and then had four left after 11:30 or so, in the dreaded “2 cross 2” formation – 18, … Read more “24469”

Solving time 15 minutes A puzzle can be easy and yet fun to do. Perhaps interesting or amusing. This one is neither of those things. Sometimes when writing these blogs one struggles to work out … Read more “Times 24,468 No Need of Harry Houdini Today”

Solving time: 44 minutes Music: John Field, Noctures/Piano Concerto #2 Parts of this one seemed fairly difficult to me. There are a few clues where the literal is quite subtle – or wildly unfair, if … Read more “Times 24467 – Not in my back yard!”