Solving time : 22 minutes. For my first attempt at blogging a solution, I was off to a rough start. Printed off the puzzle after midnight, and after a few minutes all I had filled … Read more “23,765 – A tease?”
23,764 – I thought I was supposed to be good at this?
My first chance to report on a completely unseen Times puzzle since the championship, and I have to record … Solving time: 26:43 … which means that I found this very tough indeed, especially the … Read more “23,764 – I thought I was supposed to be good at this?”
Times 23763 Sounds Familiar
Solving time : 30 minutes This is my first analysis and I have been dreading getting the hardest puzzle in twenty years.In the event it’s relatively straightforward but with several homophones, which are not my … Read more “Times 23763 Sounds Familiar”
23,762 – some fast times expected, 21A
Solving time – 7:24. Easy start to the week but there were a few answers here and there where I waited for some checking letters before filling anything in. If I’d trusted my instincts and … Read more “23,762 – some fast times expected, 21A”
Mephisto 2463 (‘2462’ in online version) – Chris Feetenby
Solving time 27:25 with no books, then a few minutes with Chambers to clear up mistakes at 6 and 15. A fairly easy puzzle this, with not too much diffucult vocabulary in the answers. Across … Read more “Mephisto 2463 (‘2462’ in online version) – Chris Feetenby”
ST 4250 (Sun 11 Nov) – Crowdie house
Solving time: not taken. 1dn missing. I helped someone solve this so didn’t take a time, but it seemed mostly very straightforward, with a couple of trickier answers, CROWDIE and SIKA DEER probably being the … Read more “ST 4250 (Sun 11 Nov) – Crowdie house”
Times Saturday 23755 – Alphabet Soup indeed!
Solving time 17:44 This was a marvellous puzzle – a few tricky words but nothing really obscure considering that it was a double pangram. 12dn gave a strong hint to the theme, although I didn’t … Read more “Times Saturday 23755 – Alphabet Soup indeed!”
Mephisto 2462/Tim Moorey
Solving time: 34:52 Tim Moorey presents his usual high standards of cluing, and there are some good examples of & lits. here. Combined with a fair sprinkling of wit and ingenuity – what more could … Read more “Mephisto 2462/Tim Moorey”
Jumbo 725 – Quite a treat
Solving time: 33:37 Nice puzzle. Excellent surface readings in a number of clues, some convoluted wordplay, and a couple of tricky clues to fathom out at the end. I enjoyed this one. Across 1 TIMES … Read more “Jumbo 725 – Quite a treat”
Unofficial Times cryptic RTC No. 19 – your times please
This one’s different … This contest is for the six preliminary round puzzles from the Times Championship. Please give your tmes in the order the puzzles appeared in the paper – different from the championship … Read more “Unofficial Times cryptic RTC No. 19 – your times please”