Solving time: 3:34, two “writos” (20ac and 6dn). This would have been my best time for this puzzle if I hadn’t written ‘bettee’ for BEETLE at 20ac and ‘alf’ for AUF at 6dn. Enough said. … Read more “ST 4227 – Beetle-brained, ‘alf-witted”
Times Saturday 23617
Solving time 15:59 I got off to a slow start with this one, putting only 3 or 4 answers in on my first run through the clues. I got 1dn wrong at first too, which … Read more “Times Saturday 23617”
Times 23,622 – still getting over my holiday!
This puzzle should have taken a few minutes – it wasn’t particularly difficult, but I was still in holiday mood after returning last night from Vienna. Maybe it was a few days when German was … Read more “Times 23,622 – still getting over my holiday!”
Times 23621 – with little time at the beginning should
Solving time: 25:53 with one wrong A slow time for me. In part, I was not thinking very fast this morning – I was also slow on the Times2 puzzle. But I think this was … Read more “Times 23621 – with little time at the beginning should”
Times 23,620
I found this reasonably easySolving time: 21 mins (quite good for me for the Times) * = anagramACROSS1 SEWER Double definition, the second a little cryptic – crossword convention allows the “false” capital in One … Read more “Times 23,620”
Times 23619/prickly
Solving time: 25’ but… Pretty fast for me but… I cheated a bit with online references: e.g. OPUNTIA. I found this a rather prickly puzzle since some of the wordplay was subtle and some of … Read more “Times 23619/prickly”
23,618 – pretty tough overall
Solving time : 1h 20I did just over half of it on a 45 min train journey, finished off at lunch and checked the ‘guesses’ as I wrote this. I’d say this was harder than … Read more “23,618 – pretty tough overall”
ST 4226 (Sun 27 May) – Artful dodgery
Solving time: 8:10 No real hold-ups at the end on this one, but overall I thought this was harder than usual. * = anagram, “X” = sounds like ‘X’. Across 1 OLIVER TWIST; (OR VILE)* … Read more “ST 4226 (Sun 27 May) – Artful dodgery”
Times Saturday 23611
[At long last! I’ve been trying to post this from work all day without success] Late again I’m afraid. I don’t seem to get any time at the weekends lately, although that’s really just an … Read more “Times Saturday 23611”
Times 23,616 – one for the polymath
This felt more like a test of general knowledge than of wordmanship, but I didn’t find it terribly difficult. There were a couple of more obscure answers, but the wordplay was generally straightforward enough to … Read more “Times 23,616 – one for the polymath”