Category: Daily Cryptic

Solving time : 12:13 The top half went fairly quickly, with only a couple of gaps, but then I couldn’t see SHARPSHOOTER, and despite the easy anagram for OUTER MONGOLIA the bottom half dragged a … Read more “23543 – there was no Adèle Forsyte”

Solving time 11:08 – with one crass error I started out with hopes of a third sub-5 on the trot, but these soon evaporated. Eventually I was left with 2 and 9. I gradually found … Read more “23542 – Swift? Yes and No – I took a knock”

Solving time: 40’ I did this on and off between interruptions in an hour and a bit but don’t understand two wordplays – probably a net of 40’. Lots of words starting with O (seven) … Read more “Times 23541/nOt sOlved at full tilt”

Solving time: 42 minutes, but with a mistake I made a flying start and began to think that I’d break the half-hour mark for only the third time in my Times Crosswording life. Then I … Read more “23,540 – Guys and Dolls”

Solving time: 3:49 I have no idea who’s on the Sunday Times setting panel, but whoever set this one – more please! A vast improvement over recent weeks with some really excellent clues, 21ac being … Read more “ST 4213 (25 Feb) – Beetle mania”

Solving time : 7m34s – A dipangram (2 of each letter in the grid at least), and a demonstration that this can lead to interesting words, as well as just odd ones. Also, and more … Read more “23,538 – Good stuff – worth two looks”

Solving time : 12:16 – with one wrong A really good crossword with interesting words and approaches to cluing. And I was feeling quite pleased when I had only three to go after less than … Read more “23537 – CORNERED”

Solving time 8:20 I suspect I’m relatively slow on this one – 11D took quite a while to work out, and the anag at 27 kept me fooled for a while. Across 9 PERM,AFRO,St. “Curly … Read more “23,536 – reprises”

Solving time: 47’ No need to time myself to the hundredth of a second today: I was held up by 6D, 10A and 23D for about 15 minutes. The last two being subtraction clues (can … Read more “Times 23535/must watch more TV”

Solving time 4:25 Good start with 1A,2,3,4 straight away though 4 showed up one of my occasional spelling idiocies – “theif”. Quite a few wordplay details worked out in full afterwards, but there was enough … Read more “23,534 – very easy”