Solving time: 14:38 A mistake at 20d held me up for a while and I’m glad I knew the literary reference at 14d and was able to guess 17a without knowing much about the opera … Read more “23,795”
Times 23,794
Solving time: 20:02 I found this tough, though all entirely fair. Lots of interestingly constructed clues and witty surfaces. For COD, I’d probably go for the long hidden at 17A. I finished the right hand … Read more “Times 23,794”
23793 Oooh R!
Solving time : About 40 minutes. An enjoyable puzzle that didn’t make too many demands on this addled brain when tackled in the early hours before bedtime. Several nice clues, in particular 9, 24 and … Read more “23793 Oooh R!”
Chambers going cheap
For some reason, a thumb-indexed version of the current Chambers is on Amazon UK for the absurdly low price of £5.39 plus p & p. Although it’s not an official dictionary for the Times puzzle, … Read more “Chambers going cheap”
23792 – My heart aches…
Solving time: 41 minutes Mostly ok – it took me a while to get going but then the answers came pretty steadily. I had to think hard to get the wordplay for a few of … Read more “23792 – My heart aches…”
Puzzles to try while the Times site is down
Here are some links to sites with puzzles, in the absence of a working Times site. We start with four current Christmas puzzles, then move on to sites with old puzzles, but these should include … Read more “Puzzles to try while the Times site is down”
Times Crossword Club problems again
Just a reminder that we have a continuing post about these problems here. I appreciate that it’s very frustrating not to be able to get at the puzzles, but I can’t condone putting scanned copies … Read more “Times Crossword Club problems again”
ST 4255 (Sun 16 Dec) – Non compos mentis
Solving time: 8:50 Got stuck on 14ac at the end – yet another neglection of the rule that if you can’t solve a clue, just check that it’s not an anagram. * = anagram. Across … Read more “ST 4255 (Sun 16 Dec) – Non compos mentis”
23,785 – Seaweed special – Sat 15 Dec
A fairly tough puzzle. Looking back now, I think the reason is just a lack of frequently used words and well-used clue ideas – only CARRAGHEEN, laver and possibly ANDIRON count as tricky vocab. COD … Read more “23,785 – Seaweed special – Sat 15 Dec”
23790 – Not too 14D but sticky stuff at 8
Solving time : About 45 minutes. This presented a few more problems than yesterday’s easy one but progress was steady throughout and I didn’t get bogged down for too long anywhere. I can’t choose between 27 … Read more “23790 – Not too 14D but sticky stuff at 8”