Solving time: 8:30 Straightforward until the end, where I was unsure of 4dn and 13ac, but as it turned out my guesses were correct. On another day I’d probably have spent a good few more … Read more “ST 4245 (Sun 7 Oct) – Sticky pricket”
Mephisto 2458/Mike Laws
Solving time: 39:27 I find Mike the hardest of the Mephisto trio, and as I was feeling lazy I used Chambers from the start for a change. The usual smattering of straightforward clues to get … Read more “Mephisto 2458/Mike Laws”
Times Saturday 23725 (Oct 6)
No report until next week, as due to the postal strike the Times have extended the deadline. I expect the same thing will happen next week too, the way things are going.
Cruciverbo ergo sum
Not a very satisfying solve, as most of the clues weren’t that challenging, and I am sure that, had I not been rusty and distracted, I could probably have completed this in half the time … Read more “Cruciverbo ergo sum”
Unofficial Times cryptic RTC No. 13 – your times please
This is a weekly unofficial contest based on your times for the Times cryptic crossword from Saturday to Friday. Championship puzzles and this contest Contests 13-18 will consist of five puzzles each rather than the … Read more “Unofficial Times cryptic RTC No. 13 – your times please”
23,729 – seven-eighths
Solving time: 11:23 Chewy stuff. I have commented on 28 of the 32 clues. Do ask if you want to know about any of the other four. And lots of good stuff too, including neat … Read more “23,729 – seven-eighths”
Times Crossword Championship 2007 – results
As promised, here are full results, which were sent to me by the organiser with permission to put them up. Producing this HTML version from a Word doc took me about one hour with pretty … Read more “Times Crossword Championship 2007 – results”
23,728 – Championship Prelim 1, Puzzle 2
Solving time: about 8 minutes on the day As long as you knew or guessed enough of various literary and general knowledge references, this was a straightforward puzzle by current championship standards, with two easy … Read more “23,728 – Championship Prelim 1, Puzzle 2”
RTC contests for Championship puzzles
The six puzzles from the two preliminary rounds will be published on Wednesdays, and I’m pretty sure this will start tomorrow. The Times website is being rather slow to put up the Grand Final puzzles … Read more “RTC contests for Championship puzzles”
Times 23727/almost completely die
Solving time: 40:10 A bit of a challenge that had me looking a thing or two up – note that my time for this is more than Peter’s cumulative time at the recent championship. I … Read more “Times 23727/almost completely die”