Solving time: 8:50 Got stuck on 14ac at the end – yet another neglection of the rule that if you can’t solve a clue, just check that it’s not an anagram. * = anagram. Across … Read more “ST 4255 (Sun 16 Dec) – Non compos mentis”
Category: Daily Cryptic
23,785 – Seaweed special – Sat 15 Dec
A fairly tough puzzle. Looking back now, I think the reason is just a lack of frequently used words and well-used clue ideas – only CARRAGHEEN, laver and possibly ANDIRON count as tricky vocab. COD … Read more “23,785 – Seaweed special – Sat 15 Dec”
23790 – Not too 14D but sticky stuff at 8
Solving time : About 45 minutes. This presented a few more problems than yesterday’s easy one but progress was steady throughout and I didn’t get bogged down for too long anywhere. I can’t choose between 27 … Read more “23790 – Not too 14D but sticky stuff at 8”
23,789 – fishy
Solving time: 12:58 Lots of fish around. Well, three at least. HOKI was the last clue I solved, but it is nice to see a fish that I know from the fishmonger that is unfamiliar … Read more “23,789 – fishy”
23,788 – not as hard as I feared
Solving time: 7:20 I didn’t find this too hard, but did know the name needed at 1D – which is my COD as the anag is so apposite. Bight=loop of rope was new to me … Read more “23,788 – not as hard as I feared”
Times 23787
Solving time : 25 time minutes Another very pleasant but also rather easy puzzle. The more obscure words like “jabot” were very easy to get from the wordplay. I had trouble with the structure of … Read more “Times 23787”
Times 23786 – Silly words that can mean anything
Solving time: 49mins Some good fun today. I enjoyed seeing PING-PONG, SINGSONG, DING-DONG and KING KONG drop out. I think that’s the lot, although I did keep thinking of the recurring Lazytown song ‘Bing Bang … Read more “Times 23786 – Silly words that can mean anything”
ST 4254 (Sun 9 Dec) – Raisa sharp
Solving time: lost, but I think it was about 5 mins. I think 9ac was the most time-consuming entry as I was looking for an alternative. Thanks very much to Peter for blogging last Sunday … Read more “ST 4254 (Sun 9 Dec) – Raisa sharp”
23,784 – Authors aplenty
Not too difficult for this book lover, with a string of mainly two word clues, including ‘author’. Solving time: 25 mins * = anagram < = reversed Across 5 HO (RN) P I PE Very … Read more “23,784 – Authors aplenty”
Times 23783 – I’ve got the subtraction blues
Solving time : 39 minutes, and the last 10 of that poring through dictionaries to find the mysterious last few words. There was a lot here that was new to me, usually literature and art … Read more “Times 23783 – I’ve got the subtraction blues”