Category: Quick Cryptic

As mentioned previously, I’ve pretty much given up trying to gauge the degree of difficulty of these puzzles – I consistently seem to be at odds with the consensus! What I can say for sure … Read more “Quick Cryptic 302 by Orpheus”

This is another Izetti – which I made much harder for myself than it actually was (see 17dn). Apart from 16dn (which should be get-able when the other letters are in place) I’m not sure … Read more “Quick Cryptic No 301 by Izetti”

And so we reach Quick Cryptic No 300 having started out on 10th March last year, and to mark the occasion we have a new setter, or at least a new setter’s name, ‘Palpatine’, which … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic 300 by Palpatine”

Well, I’m impressed by my own dedication to meeting the blogger’s deadline. I woke up early, far too early really, managed to get the puzzle and solve it on my miniature smartphone, typed up the … Read more “Quick Cryptic No 299 by Flamande”

Solving time: Easier end of the scale Apologies for the brief blog today – dashing between hospital appointments. A nice fairly straightforward puzzle that shouldn’t cause too much angst, I think. Across 1 PARTICULAR – … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic No 298 by Tracy”

This was quite a grown-up crossword, which for me felt in equal parts frustrating and revelatory – just as it should be! I had difficulty with some vocabulary at 16ac and 18ac, and one last … Read more “Quick Cryptic Number 297 by Teazel”

I didn’t record a time but I guess between 10 and 15 minutes. It started off looking hard but then finished quickly and nothing too tricky. I seem to be reducing my explanations as time … Read more “Quick Cryptic No 296 by Hurley”

A pretty straightforward Quicky today with nothing, I think, likely to cause major delays. I’ll give my COD to 14D. Wikipedia tells me that today is the feast day of the Italian Saint Zita who, … Read more “Quick Cryptic 295 by Pedro”

Well, inspired by Verlaine’s recent personae changes, I thought I’d change my avatar to something more relevant; but as nobody has commented on my hi-jacking of good old Rip Kirby – either with praise or … Read more “Quick Cryptic No 294 by Corelli”

Morning everyone! Solving time: easy to middling. The Don is gracing us with his presence today with a pleasant solve that one or two solvers may feel has unusual words. The usual mix of staunch … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic No 293 by Izetti”