Solving time 19:05 Just under the 20 minute that seems to be my Jumbo par at the moment. Some clever stuff in here – long hidden words, and repeated words used for both anagram fodder … Read more “Jumbo 690 – African elephant?”
Times 23,574/Not my best effort…
I really struggled with this puzzle. Some of the words included seem a little forced, although legitimate (UH-HUH and TERMLY for example) and there’s at least one clue I didn’t understand. ACROSS 1 CA(T(h)E)RS 4 … Read more “Times 23,574/Not my best effort…”
23,573 – Plenty of standards on view
Solving time: 5m45s – Got held up badly at the end by 6d/7d/13ac which was feeble – guessing correctly at 13ac but then worrying enough about the other two that I crossed it out before … Read more “23,573 – Plenty of standards on view”
23,572 – Make it snappy, Peter
Solving time 7:55 Not that snappy, but a good puzzle – no obscure words except maybe CUTIS, and wordplay subtlety rather than difficult “general knowledge”. A quick reminder that today sees the second qualifier for … Read more “23,572 – Make it snappy, Peter”
Times 23571/cryptic interruptus
Solving time: 40’ but missing two NW answers Rather difficult – and I discovered I don’t do all that well under pressure – I have to get out of the house about 20 minutes ago… … Read more “Times 23571/cryptic interruptus”
23,570 – He always has an alibi, and one or two to spare…
Solving time : 54 minsI felt pretty pleased with this time – there were a few words I didn’t know. A couple of times I got the definition, but couldn’t see the wordplay for ages. … Read more “23,570 – He always has an alibi, and one or two to spare…”
Mephisto 2431 – Mike Laws
Maphisto 2431 – Mike Laws Solving time: say 75 mins Had a disjointed experience of this. Solved about half to two-thirds on paper when visiting relatives last Sunday – between playing football with one nephew … Read more “Mephisto 2431 – Mike Laws”
Times Saturday 23563 – tough for me
Solving time 28:00 (by comparison last week’s Jumbo only took me 24:15) The NE corner gave me the most difficulty, as after completing the rest of the puzzle I had nothing in there at all. … Read more “Times Saturday 23563 – tough for me”
ST 4218 (Sun 1 Apr) – Goonlike schemata
Solving time: 4:15 After some recent improvements, this is another of those puzzles which leaves you wondering if this crossword is edited/proofread at all. Either I have missed something (quite possible), in which case I … Read more “ST 4218 (Sun 1 Apr) – Goonlike schemata”
23,568 – easy enough
Solving time 5:40 A fairly gentle puzzle, which suggests there might be some tougher ones coming up over the weekend. Across 9 EM=me<=,MENTAL 10 CAUL = “call” 13 BEN,TON – ton = fashion is something … Read more “23,568 – easy enough”