Category: Daily Cryptic

Solving time: 26 mins in total, 15 of those trying to resolve three clues. The triad in question comprised 9ac (got wrong and has taken me ages to work out the correct answer), 25ac (got … Read more “23,458 – Query queries”

Standing in for one of the regulars for my first Times Community review, this was an accessible puzzle. As a daily Indy solver, have been doing the Times almost every day only in fairly recent … Read more “23,457 – fairly easy”

Solving time – 26:54 At least 10 minutes slower than I would have liked. It was tricky in places but not that hard! Perhaps I should stop going out on Friday nights… ACROSS 1 S(CH,IS)M … Read more “23450 – struggled a bit”

Solving time : 5m43s – I may regret writing this, but I may as well say what I think. Some of the puzzle seemed to me a little … well, amateurish. Ximeneans would object to … Read more “23,455 – New blood? I’ll get my teeth in”

Solving time : abandoned after 20 minutes with one missing The puzzle seemed fairly tough. I completed all except 1A in 10:15, and then I came to a halt. I tried all letters of the … Read more “23454 – Strong winds spoil solving time”

Solving time 11:13 In some haste as doing the other blog today too … This was a tie-breaker puzzle held in readiness at the Times Championship in case two people’s (all-correct) hands went up simultaneously … Read more “23,453 – Six games all …”

Solving time: 12:37 Eight multi-word answers today, but frustratingly I managed just two of these on first look (12ac and 15dn) which made this feel slow. Only after finishing did I notice the large number … Read more “23,452 – Special K, hiding Sikh”

Solving time : 1h25 Off to a cracking start – I did most of the RHS fairly quickly then the rest in fits and spurts. Looking back, though, there weren’t too many tricky clues so … Read more “23,451 – Obviously you’re not a golfer”

Solving time : 5:41 This may not be the fastest time in which I have ever completed a Times Crossword, but it is certainly the fastest I have ever timed accurately. With the single exception … Read more “23448 – easy for a Thursday (or any day)”

Solving time 12:28 + a tad for previous knowledge This was the first puzzle in preliminary session B of the championship, and it was solved by 53 per cent of the competitors. After some daft … Read more “23,447 – Not a giveaway / Shameless advertising”