My fastest solving time ever – 4 mins 58 secs. This was a very easy Friday effort, as evidenced by the time it took me to solve it. There were no difficult words, or oblique … Read more “Fast Friday”
23561 – optimist misses out
Solving time : 16:05 I made heavy weather of this, though I am not entirely sure why. I knew most of the unfamiliar answers, the exception being BRAT-PACKER, which is not really unguessable. I have … Read more “23561 – optimist misses out”
23,560 Party time again
Solving time 7:22 Trickiest part of this for me was the SW corner. With a fair number of moderately exotic words, this felt like quite a good solving time. Possibly a shame that this puzzle … Read more “23,560 Party time again”
Times 23559/Tati in a tutu?
Solving time: 1hr 3mins Tough Tuesday. My brain has slowed down considerably this week. My Grandmother died – it’s OK she was 104 and totally with it until the last moment (her last words to … Read more “Times 23559/Tati in a tutu?”
23,558 – double trouble
Solving time : 1hr 10minsAnother difficult Monday for me – I got going straightaway with a few anagrams, but then failed to get many of the others for a while. There are still three I … Read more “23,558 – double trouble”
Mephisto 2429 / Tim Moorey – Carnifex!
Solving time – about 32 minutes, with fairly extensive use of Chambers. One of the rules of crossword grid construction observed almost everywhere is “no duplicated entries”. This puzzle throws the rule in the bin … Read more “Mephisto 2429 / Tim Moorey – Carnifex!”
ST 4216 – Dyak knifed
Solving time: About 20 mins by the time I gave up looking for alternatives and wrote in my three guesses (starred) of which (at least) one was wrong. Also spent a long time on 26dn. … Read more “ST 4216 – Dyak knifed”
Times Saturday 23551
Solving time: approx 15 mins. I was in London last week to meet up with some Irish friends for St. Patrick’s Day, so I solved this from the paper while sat in Covent Garden having … Read more “Times Saturday 23551”
It’s a lovely day for a Crossword Tournament …
Just about now, some nervy sleepless solvers will be getting up in Stamford, Connecticut. This weekend sees the 30th American Crossword Puzzle Tournament, where the best solvers can dispose of an easy New York Times … Read more “It’s a lovely day for a Crossword Tournament …”
23,556 – Sturm und Drang
Solving time: 25 mins I found this one really tough, struggling with the NE corner in particular, although other words seemed to take their time finding their way from my brain to my hand. A … Read more “23,556 – Sturm und Drang”