Category: Quick Cryptic

A puzzle at the easier end of the QC spectrum, I thought, but with a few clues that needed a bit of unravelling (e.g. 1ac). No obscurities, assuming you are familiar with the poet featured … Read more “Quick Cryptic No 392 by Tracy”

An unusual setter (I’m not implying the setter is odd in any way – simply that I can only find 2 previous puzzles) with some unusual vocabulary to match. There’s also some challenging word play, … Read more “Quick Cryptic No 391 by Alconiere”

 8 minutes for this one, helped by the fact that the most unusual answer (at 10dn – and it was a long one) came up very recently in a 15×15 so it was fresh in … Read more “Quick Cryptic 390 by Flamande”

No waffle today, busy schedule; I’ll leave the waxing lyrical to my French poetic friend. A nice balanced puzzle with nothing to frighten the horses. D = definition; DD = double definition; CP = cryptic … Read more “Quick Cryptic No 389 by Izetti”

[Posted at 11:50: As  noon approaches I’m not sure if today’s Quickie is covered. If there’s no news of it by 1:00 I shall post an emergency blog]. Posted at 13:33: 10 minutes for this … Read more “QUICK CRYPTIC 388 by PEDRO”

I got off to a good start with this (and even chucked 10ac into the grid from the wordplay alone) but slowed down in the bottom half. And I’m very glad I did – the … Read more “Quick Cryptic Number 387 by Mara”

Some challenging clues in an enjoyable crossword of mid-difficulty. Travelling at the moment so keeping this brief – please do ask for any clarifications. Definitions underlined, cd=cryptic definition, dd=double definition, deletions CROSSED OUT Across 1 … Read more “Quick Cryptic No 386 by Joker”

I found this puzzle to be of average difficulty though I can’t adequately explain 8D – any suggestions would be most welcome. 22A and 13D might not be words that solvers bandy about in everyday … Read more “Quick Cryptic 385 by Teazel”

I did this immediately after a main TC puzzle and I have to say it wasn’t the easy 5 minute write-in these things used to be; like last Friday’s, it seemed to have a good … Read more “Quick Cryptic No 384 by Corelli – or maybe not so quick”

Right, it’s now 11:00 and nothing has appeared so here’s the blog. This one took me 9 minutes so I scored it as the easiest for a while – since Joker’s contribution last Thursday. As … Read more “Quick Cryptic 383 by Orpheus”