Category: Daily Cryptic

Solving time: 9:39 Some nice clues in this (17ac and 23dn are my favourites), and the usual couple of mistakes – wordplay in 26ac and enumeration at 21ac. * = anagram, “X” = sounds like … Read more “ST 4232 (Sun 8 Jul) – Ruse contre ruse”

A fairly challenging puzzle today, I thought. Some of the clues seemed to take longer than I’d have expected if I’d been on form and there are a couple I’m unsure about. Solving time – … Read more “Times 23,652 – 20ac looking at some of this!”

Solving time: 10:33 Quick start with 1A and the two long down ones going in straight away (even if I only worked out why it was SQUARE THE CIRCLE afterwards). Then quite a lot of … Read more “23651 – Look sharp and blurred”

Solving muscles are fairly well back in trim after doing most of the Times puzzles from my holiday last night, but I was still rather slow on 4,14,18,28 and 13. And turned out to have … Read more “23650 – a couple of minutes slow”

Solving time: 37’ Was going pretty fast and I had deluded myself into thinking I could join the illustrious crowd who solved Friday, Sunday and Monday in record times… until I hit the NE corner … Read more “Times 23649/what about Whitby?”

Solving time: 2:41 Wow, where did that come from? 2:41 is a PB for me for this puzzle, and my best time ever for a 15×15 blocked crossword. A little wasted time on 9ac, which … Read more “ST 4231 (Sun 1 Jul) – Easy as Phi”

Apologies for the (very) late blog, but I can’t post from my workplace, and I normally send my blog to Peter and he kindly posts on my behalf. I forgot he was on holiday, and … Read more “Times 23,646 – sorry for the delay”

Solving time: 23 minutes – I think my best time ever. This was really easy – nothing to hold me up at all. EILAT at 24A was the only new word here, but wordplay was … Read more “Times 23,648 – over in a flash”

Solving time: 15:27 No real hold-ups here. I put in AEGEAN SEA at 26A, only worrying if it could really be so straightforward. Happily the next clue I looked at was the straightforward anagram at … Read more “Times 23645”

Solving time: 20’ Just a couple of visits to Google today – 17D (PELISSE) and part of the construction of 18D (IRMA La Douce) – other than that everything fell nicely, finishing up in the … Read more “Times 23644 – A little light LEGWORK”