Category: Quick Cryptic

I failed to see 1ac on first pass (the topic not being my strongest subject) so this was a bottom up solve for me. A little over average time, possibly owing to the above, but … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic 1827 by Jalna”

FOI 5ac and then headed south and worked clockwise round the grid. I made startlingly good time for what felt like a tricky puzzle – having completed all but 17ac in less than 7 minutes. … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic 1826 by Teazel”

A few weeks ago someone commented on the relative rarity of the two Dons meeting but here it is happening again. An enjoyable puzzle that once again largely eschewed the use of the anagram QC … Read more “QC 1825 by Izetti”

An enjoyable workout. Not sure I can predict how difficult people will find it, as there are some very straighforward clues as well as a few others that I couldn’t see straight away, e.g. 5ac, 10ac. … Read more “Quick Cryptic 1824 by Mara”

I really enjoyed this puzzle from Hurley, completing it in just under 12 minutes, but there are some traps along the way.  I think that my COD is 1a (I may have been influenced by … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic No 1823 by Hurley”

Introduction 6:07. Nothing too wild. EDIT: I realized while writing the blog that many of the answers I put in from the definition had quite complicated wordplay! I’m interested to know if people got tangled … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic No 1822 by Pedro”

A pangram and a tricky grid layout (not many crossers for first letters) from Breadman today. It felt like hard work at the time but the pace kept up, so the cluing must have been … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic 1821 by Breadman”

Solving time: 7 minutes. This seems mostly straightforward with no obscure words and only a couple of slightly unfamiliar meanings. As usual definitions are underlined in bold italics, {deletions and substitutions are in curly brackets} … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic 1820 by Trelawney”

An enjoyable but tricky test from Mara today to end the week. Some lovely clues with no less than 6 ticks in my copy. Not easy in parts, though, and I suspect some less-experienced solvers … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic No 1819 by Mara”

I found this rather tricky, and at three-or-so minutes over target took fully twice as long as yesterday’s done just beforehand. No particular hold-ups, but I only got five of the acrosses on a first … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic No 1818 by Teazel”