Solving time: 6:51 Most of this puzzle was very straightforward as the clues were packed with clichés and most definitions were transparent. However, a few difficult words slowed me down: in particular, I didn’t know … Read more “23,476 – Christmas gift”
23,475
Solving time : 1hr 24minsI initially wondered whether the clue for 27A being half-printed with the Down clues had any significance, but then I spotted 24D was incomplete. According to the online version 24D should … Read more “23,475”
Sunday Times 4202 – etaerio
Not a bad puzzle. A couple of clever wordplays. Actually I’m finding it hard to remember what I thought about this puzzle since I wrote these notes a week ago. Perhaps there’s a theme here … Read more “Sunday Times 4202 – etaerio”
Times Saturday 23468 – the Persians are coming!
Solving time 12:35 In retrospect that seems like a fairly indifferent time, as there don’t seem to be too many tricky clues, although there are a few interesting answers. I remember taking a while to … Read more “Times Saturday 23468 – the Persians are coming!”
23,473 – Ninas all round
Solving time : 17m40s – so much for no variation in solving times. I really don’t think it was because it was my office Christmas Party last night that I struggled to get to grips … Read more “23,473 – Ninas all round”
Speeding things up …
I’ve noticed fairly slow display of the default view of the blog in the last few weeks. I’ve therefore reduced the number of entries displayed on each “page” from 20 to 10. If you notice … Read more “Speeding things up …”
23472: clever stuff
Solving time : 13:45 I solved this in an anti-clockwise direction, rushing down the left hand side, filling in the bottom half, then gradually working up the right to finish with 4D (gasoline), which took … Read more “23472: clever stuff”
23,471 – a few tricky bits
Solving time 8:00 One or two clues here could have people struggling. Across 1 HEAD,STREAM – tempted by MAINSTREAM, with “current school” as iffy def, but M??? for 1D looked unpromising so the “main” bit … Read more “23,471 – a few tricky bits”
23,470 – True Blue
Solving time: 12:34 Sometimes, if you do something regularly at a particular time in the day, and you then try to do it at a different time of day, it’s harder to get into the … Read more “23,470 – True Blue”
23,469 – I lost the plot towards the end
Solving time : 1 hour 6 minutes A good range of clues with straightforward wordplay to get the more difficult answers. Lots of crossword terms featured that are quick to spot now I’ve been doing … Read more “23,469 – I lost the plot towards the end”