Category: Quick Cryptic

I personally found this one at the very easy end of the spectrum, but such things are highly subjective! A Double Definition fest (none the worse for that), and both 24a and 17d suggesting (happily) … Read more “Quick Cryptic 552 by Mara”

I romped through this in 7 minutes 43 and enjoyed every clue. The word play has been equally pleasurable to blog. This is about as ideal a QC as I think you can get. I … Read more “Quick Cryptic 551 by Rongo”

I think Flamande’s puzzles are generally at the easier end of the spectrum, lately at least, and this one proved to be no exception for me as I completed it in 9 minutes. There are … Read more “Quick Cryptic 550 by Flamande”

Something of a French flavour this week, with 1a (knew the word, but not the spelling until I got some checkers), 6d and even 1d (my LOI). Clever anagrams at 8d and particularly 17a, I … Read more “Quick Cryptic 549 by Izetti”

This is only Hawthorn’s third outing in the Quick Cryptics, the other two appearing in January and March this year, and I found it a joy to do. I had about 8 little ticks beside … Read more “Quick Cryptic 548 by Hawthorne”

I found this a bit of a work-out, slowing down with half of the clues yet to solve. One or two tricky parsings that required more than one operation to be performed on a part … Read more “Quick Cryptic Number 547 by Tracy”

Hurley has served up an excellent lesson in cryptic crosswording containing positioning instructions in the clues and plenty of standard abbreviations. The only unusual vocabulary is a religious movement which is gettable from the anagram. … Read more “Quick Cryptic 546 by Hurley”

It took me a while to get going on this one, with several of the across clues in particular bringing nothing to mind on first reading. Looking back, I’m not sure why that was but … Read more “Quick Cryptic 545 by Teazel”

Many nice surface readings in this week’s offerings – my favourites 14d and 18a. If one is going for a quick solve it’s easy to lose sight of the clue as a whole and that’s … Read more “Quick Cryptic 544 by Joker”

Something of a musical theme today, which isn’t my strong point, but I still managed to get this done in 12 minutes.  This is my first blog, so please be gentle with me.  I struggled … Read more “Quick Cryptic 543 by Dazzler”