Category: Quick Cryptic

A pleasant puzzle at the easier end of the spectrum, I thought, although for some reason I took a bit of time to spot what was going on in 2dn and 12 dn. Not much … Read more “Quick Cryptic 602 by Mara”

A magic crossword at a good QC level – 10 minutes. Quite a lot of turning bits of word play and a French novelist to keep us on our toes but nothing too hard. Thanks … Read more “Quick Cryptic 601 by Tracy”

The milestone QC puzzles (today is #600) fall on my watch and I am always hoping the setter may have a special treat in store for us to mark the occasion. Unfortunately that’s not so … Read more “Quick Cryptic 600 by Orpheus”

Another DNF for me after last week. Clever anagram at 1a, but I didn’t know the phrase and also stumped by 5d, although nothing unfair about it. I think I blogged a dope/gen clue recently.A … Read more “Quick Cryptic 599 by Izetti”

A really nice puzzle, towards the harder end of the spectrum. I did yesterday’s just before this, and took just over twice as long today at 16 mins, so on a made-up scale of difficulty … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic No 598 by Teazel”

I found this one at the easier end of the spectrum, though by no means a walk in the park. Thought 3d was a particularly nice clue – good anagram and amusing surface with a … Read more “Quick Cryptic 597 by Flamande”

Well, you live and learn. 1dn is such a learning point for me and took a lot of my 16 minute solve. Should you get 16ac in advance then 1dn shouldn’t cause too many problems.Otherwise … Read more “Quick Cryptic 596 by Felix”

I found this one quite tricky, though in hindsight there’s nothing particularly complicated in it and the grid is friendly enough, with long answers on the top and left sides giving a bunch of helpful … Read more “Quick Cryptic 595 by Pedro”

Well, I have to admit, this one defeated me! Didn’t know the fish at 5a, and couldn’t figure out the cryptic, so honours to the setter. After comments from others, see below, it’s clear I … Read more “Quick Cryptic 594 by Joker”

Slightly risqué offering with dirty films, brothel keepers, and hints of dirty weekends at the seaside! I found this a little harder than normal, taking me five minutes over my target of ten minutes, but … Read more “Quick cryptic No 593 by Hawthorn”