Category: Quick Cryptic

Bit more of a workout today. Took a while to get going, straightforward in the middle then held up at the end. I liked the surface at 20, and I was suitably wrongfooted by 4 … Read more “Quick Cryptic 1204 by Oran”

12 minutes for me this morning, helped by a plethora of anagrams, nothing too obscure, and a good sprinkling of easier clues.  There is some unusual vocabulary though, both in clues and answers – FRISSON, … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic No 1203 by Hurley”

I’m standing in for Jeremy, who’s back for a double starting next week. A nice mixture of difficulty in the clues, I thought. The first few across and down clues went in straight away, normal service then … Read more “Quick Cryptic 1202 by Flamande”

An excellent QC, in my opinion, as it was quick (8:28) but definitely put up a struggle. Unusually, I had several half answers around the grid at one time waiting for a crossing letter (e.g. … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic 1201 by Izetti”

My solving time for this was 8 minutes so I’d say it’s on the easier side of the balance. Very enjoyable, but unless I’ve missed it there’s nothing special here to mark the publication of  … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic 1200 by Mara”

Apologies in advance for any delay in replying to comments and queries – I bring you this blog from Marbella in Spain, where I am taking part in the Marbella Walking Festival, and have a … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic No 1199 by Tracy”

A gentler puzzle today from Teazel, hopefully something of a relief after a run of trickier offerings. I tackled this directly after doing Tuesday’s 15x and QC, both of which were tough, and was rewarded … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic No 1198 by Teazel”

Continuing the high standard of recent Quickies, this was tricky in places. I found enough starting points to gradually fill the grid in no particular order, with LOI 5dn. Had to look up the (vaguely … Read more “Quick Cryptic 1197 by Joker”

Just over ten minutes for this one and all the time it seemed pretty tricky. Loi 22ac. Whilst the old timers may sail through, serenely or otherwise, I feel there are a lot of learning … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic 1196 by Orpheus”

Right, I really liked this puzzle, and found a lot of the clues entertaining and challenging. Unfortunately it shows in my time which was uncomfortably near the 12-minute mark. Oh I can make excuses. Chief among … Read more “QC 1195 by Hurley”