Category: Quick Cryptic

Solving time: 6 minutes. I found this quite straightforward so I shall be interested to find out how others got on and hear about any difficulties that may not have occurred to me. As usual … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic 1890 by Oink”

I thought this a decent middle-of-the-road Quick Cryptic from the dependable Tracy to end the week, although I found a couple of the surfaces a little clunky. It helps if you know your flowers, European … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic No 1889 by Tracy”

I think around 7 minutes to get to the ‘Unlucky!’ sign, and then another perplexed minute or so staring at 9ac and 6d before clicking on the answer: at the time of solving the answers … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic No 1888 by Joker”

I seemed to be on the wavelength with this one. Not a total write-in, as several clues needed returning to for a second go, but on the gentle end of the spectrum. Definition underlined. Across … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic 1887 by Mara”

Ah, Orpheus again but without such a sting. 8 minutes for an interesting solve. Started slowly but then the biffometer started ratcheting up – a word to the wise here for other potential biffers  – … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic 1886 by Orpheus”

Once again I managed to do most of this sequentially, thrown off my stride only by 21A which should have been enough of a chestnut for me by now just to write it in. I … Read more “QC 1885 by Breadman”

Quite the anagram fest today, which usually indicates the easier end of the spectrum, though I took 8 minutes which is mid-range for me. CoD probably 16ac. Across 1 Thought of French being set free … Read more “Quick Cryptic 1884 by Mara”

Des is an infrequent setter who I have blogged a couple of times before.  I find that his puzzles are usually accessible and elegant, with occasional use of rare or archaic vocabulary, as is the … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic No 1883 by Des”

Introduction 12:16 and I felt glad to finish! Tough Quickies are, to my taste, much more frustrating than tough 15x15s, as there are fewer ways to work your way into the grid. Solutions A brief … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic No 1882 by Izetti”

If Orpheus was on AM then I was on DAB. A rare dnf for me as I couldn’t solve the long 4dn without all the checkers and I felt I had no chance of 9ac … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic 1881 by Orpheus”