This took me rather longer than it should have – a good 45 minutes. It seemed rather a let-down after yesterday’s treat but on another day it might have seemed more impressive. Across 1 BROAD-BRUSH … Read more “Times 23921”
Times 23920: DD, XX, and trusting one’s instinct
Solving time : 15 minutes, with one unconfirmed guess. Blazed through most of this, some fun and fruity wordplay and two clues that had me outright laughing – not quite Clues in Blue territory, but … Read more “Times 23920: DD, XX, and trusting one’s instinct”
23,919 – hunting for 1D
Solving time 9:15 – with the last 2 or so pondering 1D. This seems a very fair test – no literature that I can detect, and not too much local culture. The answers are well-chosen … Read more “23,919 – hunting for 1D”
Times 23918 Hyroglyphs from Hi-De-Alloa
Solving time : 35 minutes I enjoyed this puzzle but I have a feeling parts of it may cause some problems. Some of the clues, 14A for example, have a Mephisto feel about them and … Read more “Times 23918 Hyroglyphs from Hi-De-Alloa”
23917
Solving time: over an hour and a half in a few sittings Sorry for the lateness of this post – I have had a really hectic day (unexpectedly) and tried to do this in a … Read more “23917”
ST 4276 (Sun 11 May) – Lock and Awe
Solving time: 5 mins for all but 26ac and 9dn, on which I subsequently gave up. In fact, my guess at 26ac (FIELDFARE) proved correct, but I wouldn’t have got 9dn in a month of … Read more “ST 4276 (Sun 11 May) – Lock and Awe”
Mephisto 2489 Tim Moorey
I found this an entertaining puzzle with a good mix of easy, medium and difficult clues. An excellent puzzle for any new Mephisto solvers. I thought the top easier than the bottom. 1A, 7A, 10A, … Read more “Mephisto 2489 Tim Moorey”
Saturday 23910 – One definite chestnut and maybe one or two others
Solving time: 21:52I have always considered Saturday crosswords as being a bit trickier than average but always very fair. The last few weeks offerings have, I think, crossed the fairness line and require what I … Read more “Saturday 23910 – One definite chestnut and maybe one or two others”
Jumbo 754 (Sat 3 May) – One of those days?
Solving time: 15:39 I believe Peter recorded a new Jumbo PB for this puzzle. I didn’t find it quite that easy, although probably easier than average. I don’t think I had any significant hold-ups, just … Read more “Jumbo 754 (Sat 3 May) – One of those days?”
23915
Solving time: 8:27 Pretty straightforward I thought. I’ll go for 4d as my COD. Across 1 f(ROZE)*n – ZERO. 4 (SO A SPY)* in PLUM – PLAY POSSUM. 11 TO US,LE 14 hidden in “manY … Read more “23915”