Category: Quick Cryptic

I don’t mind admitting that this took me 24 minutes this morning, so is far more difficult than usual, or my mind has been stolen by someone.  It might also be due to the large … Read more “Quick cryptic No 683 by Joker”

As ever, a delightful little number from Hawthorn characterised by elegant and witty clueing, with no obscurities but plenty to give the grey matter a bit of a work out. The whole thing was an … Read more “Quick Cryptic 682 by Hawthorn”

This all flowed quite smoothly and enjoyably with some lovely wordplay/surfaces until I reached the bottom section where 15dn, 21 and 22ac caused me some ‘quality thinking time’. Having eventually overcome these challenges, I found … Read more “Quick Cryptic 681 by Tracy”

Yes, me again, making a rare appearance blogging a puzzle whose number doesn’t end in 5. I’ll be away a couple of times in the next month so jackkt has kindly agreed to swap our … Read more “Quick Cryptic 680 by Flamande”

An enjoyable offering from Mara.  Took me about five and a half minutes, so I’m thinking it was on the easier side of average difficulty.  What did you think? There was nothing too devious in … Read more “Quick Cryptic 679 by Mara”

Another lovely puzzle from Izetti. Probably around par in terms of difficulty for this setter – I took a notch over 14 mins. I was delayed a bit by the NW, having a mental block … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic No 678 by Izetti”

A pleasant, gentle offering from Rongo today. Nothing too tricky and no obscurities. Thanks to our setter. Definitions underlined: DD = double definition: anagrams indicated by *(–): omitted letters indicated by {-} Across 1 Conventional … Read more “Quick Cryptic 677 by Rongo”

I’m not if sure Alfie is a new setter but the name doesn’t seem familiar – anyway he (presumably) is most welcome. This was a mixture of easy and challenging clues 4dn/9ac proved enough challenge … Read more “Quick Cryptic 676 by Alfie”

An enjoyable puzzle from Orpheus to start the week. No hiddens or reverse hiddens, only one partial and one full anagram, and only one long answer, so a paucity of what would probably be described … Read more “Quick Cryptic 675 by Orpheus”

Front of 1ac, 24. The clock said 7’55”, about average for me, but there are some beauties here. 1d, 11, 18, 24, the excellent 4d and the sublime 3d all make for a very satisfying … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic no 674 by Flamande Friday 7th October 2016”