Category: Quick Cryptic

Perhaps the easiest quickie I’ve blogged for, came in at just over 5 minutes. I think my favourite is 11dn, mainly because I was pleased with myself for knowing the word, as a result of … Read more “Quick Cryptic 954 by Teazel”

I managed to whizz through this inside 8 minutes, which is my fastest time for a QC for a while, although there was lots of subtlety and fine surfacing here.  I think I was helped … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic No 953 by Mara”

I thought this was a very classy puzzle from Joker, with elegant and succinct cluing throughout – lovely craftsmanship. With such high quality throughout, singling out any particular clues for special mention almost feels inappropriate, … Read more “Quick Cryptic No 952 by Joker”

Although there were a couple of literary/musical references, everything was fairly and amusingly clued. As I’ve gone through writing the blog I’ve appreciated how many surfaces have been crafted to make a decent meaning – … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic 951 by Howzat”

This one took me 7 minutes and I think it’s towards the easier end of the spectrum and may suit those who have found recent QCs a little on the hard side. I hope so anyway. … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic 950 by Tracy”

This seemed to me to be at the harder end of the quickie spectrum, but all the more satisfying to complete successfully. I think there is a misprint in 14d and there were a few … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic No 949 by Izetti”

I see this is Wurm’s third outing, the previous two being June and August of this year. June’s was deemed quite easy; August’s was deemed quite hard. This is decidedly in the latter category, if … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic No 948 by Wurm”

Of course, part of me hopes that you all sailed through this without a second thought, but the other part hopes I’m not faced with the humiliation of across-the-board sub-10 minute solves this morning, because … Read more “Quick Cryptic 947 by Orpheus”

Corelli has served up an enticing blend of compelling surfaces and word plays which require plenty of mental gymnastics. It took 14 enjoyable minutes to piece it all together. There’s an echo of yesterday’s puzzle … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic 946 by Corelli”

An interesting puzzle from Teazel that tickled me with the nosy vicar at 15A and the potash-wielding masseur in the very next clue. I thought there was a good mix of vocab, with no chestnuts … Read more “Quick Cryptic 945 by Teazel”