Category: Weekend Cryptic

9:36, but with one stupid error: I put CASES at 24dn. It sort of works, if you’ve an eye to finishing in under 10 minutes, and make a connection between ‘requests’ and CASES in a … Read more “Sunday Times 4706 by Jeff Pearce”

16:29 for this fairly challenging puzzle (although it would have been a bit quicker if I hadn’t bunged in THUMB STITCH at 13D). Not sure where I got that from – it doesn’t even exist. … Read more “Saturday Times 26484 (6th Aug)”

Must admit I’ve come to expect a bit of a “slug-fest” with Harry’s puzzles, but this one was a lot lighter in tone and a barrel of laughs whilst still offering a tricky challenge. Some … Read more “Sunday Times 4705 by David McLean – The Entertainer”

Solving time 16:36, so I found it fairly tricky. It was a pangram too, and they generally are harder than average. Having said that, I can’t remember what held me up now, as there was … Read more “Saturday Times 26478 (July 30th)”

23:11. I spent a very high proportion of my time on two clues: 13ac and 5ac. I’m not really sure why: it’s just a question of looking at them the right way. I didn’t manage … Read more “Sunday Times 4704 by Dean Mayer – outta sight”

Solving time – not sure, a gentle 20 minutes or so with the actual paper for a change, while talking and not really concentrating on it. I then typed it in in 1:58 (submitted without … Read more “Saturday Times 26472 (23rd July)”

I’m standing in for nick_the_novice this week as he’s somewhere in the wilds of Colombia about 1,000 miles from a mobile signal apparently. 10:25 for this one, surprisingly quick considering the number of unknown words. … Read more “Sunday Times 4703 by Jeff Pearce (17th July)”

15:30 for this one, which saved most of its trickiness for the shorter answers. 1ac went straight in, quickly followed by most of the downs hanging off it, so I was off at a sprint. … Read more “Saturday Times 26466 (16th July)”

37:15, with one error. This was rather a controversial crossword, generating an awful lot of comment on the club site, much of it negative. The football theme was not welcomed by a lot of people, … Read more “Sunday Times 4702 by David McLean – special one”

14:09 on the Club timer for this, so a tad harder than a few recent ones. 1ac was simple and brilliant, one of those memorable clues that you might use as an example to someone … Read more “Saturday Times 26460 (9th July)”