Solving time: 8:40 Standard fare with a mixture of good (1ac, 13ac) and bad (15ac, 7dn, 8dn). * = anagram, “X” = sounds like ‘X’. Across 1 AQUALUNG – nice pun on ‘the deep’ = … Read more “ST 4324 (Sun 12 Apr) – Take a deep breath”
Category: Daily Cryptic
Times Crossword 24202
Solving time: 15.22. I finished most of the puzzle within 10 minutes but then ground to a halt in the top left, where a combination of interlocking blind spots left me unable to break either … Read more “Times Crossword 24202”
Times 24201 – two countries, a bad hair day and a Jewish rite of passage
Solving time : 20 minutes – there were some words here that might stretch the old general knowledge. I got about two thirds of this and came to a grinding halt on both the bottom … Read more “Times 24201 – two countries, a bad hair day and a Jewish rite of passage”
24200 – Scum?
Solving time: 8:12 – which seems quite good based on the amount to talk about Scum is a surface film – as seen in the two long answers today. A puzzle solved from the bottom … Read more “24200 – Scum?”
Times 24,199 – Cry God for England and St George
16 minutes, and felt as if it should have been less. However, I came away with the conclusion that for everything I thought was good today, there was something else that made me raise an … Read more “Times 24,199 – Cry God for England and St George”
ST 4323 (Sun 5 Apr) – Boa awe
Solving time: 2:46 An easy puzzle but I enjoyed lots of these clues, especially 20ac. Do I detect the hand of Tim Moorey? A very happy (if slightly belated) Easter to all readers. * = … Read more “ST 4323 (Sun 5 Apr) – Boa awe”
Times 24198 – Surely not Nutella?
Solving time: 50 mins (mostly heart in mouth) Not the stinker I’d anticipated for my inaugural blog, but I was never going to get the Irish port (my nemesis on any day, be it postprandial … Read more “Times 24198 – Surely not Nutella?”
Times 24196 Tortoise’s Hell
I made very slow progress on this one but having completed it I can’t really understand what my difficulty was. I think perhaps I’m a bit nervous on days when it’s my turn to blog … Read more “Times 24196 Tortoise’s Hell”
Times 24195 – did Michelle Obama pull a 11?
Solving time : 12 minutes with a splitting head-cold, so this must have been on the easier side. There were some nice clues, mostly straight-forward words with one or two clever wordplay twists (for the … Read more “Times 24195 – did Michelle Obama pull a 11?”
Times 24194 – 1A, 3
Solving time: 13:36 Quite tricky this one, though for no very obvious reason – must just be well-hidden wordplay. Last in were 27 and then 13. Just noticed that the top row makes a good … Read more “Times 24194 – 1A, 3”