Solving time 9:11 In total, 14 letters of the alphabet appeared at least twice in the same answer somewhere in this puzzle. I suspect a doubled-letter pangram is impossible, but occasionally setters seem to try … Read more “23,482 – Seeing double??”
23,481 – 9ac gave me the 9ac
Solving time: Gave up after 25 mins or so with one missing (9ac) and two wrong (10ac, 24ac). Had a good start on this one but got bogged down and spent the last 15 minutes … Read more “23,481 – 9ac gave me the 9ac”
Mephisto 2418/Mike Laws
As has been stated before, Mephisto is an excellent bridge between the more difficult daily puzzles and the barred weekend puzzles such as the Listener. The clues in this one were not particularly difficult, and … Read more “Mephisto 2418/Mike Laws”
Sunday Times 4203/no sour grapes this time
No sour grapes this time. Nice selection of clues with not much to complain about. Some surprisingly well-hidden wordplay (20A, 21D) and some good &lits (16D). Across 1 SUNGLASSES – cryptic definition. 7 BASS – … Read more “Sunday Times 4203/no sour grapes this time”
The spirit of crosswords past
Those who like a tough challenge might like to buy a paper copy of the Times today. It has a puzzle supplement with Times crosswords from 1996, 1976, 1956, and 1936. The oldest two will … Read more “The spirit of crosswords past”
Jumbo 672 – run out of long phrases?
Solving time – 32:39 Another Times Jumbo with no answers longer than 14 letters. As PB often says, why make a 23×23 grid if you’re not going to use the extra size? ACROSS 9 CAS(h),HEW, … Read more “Jumbo 672 – run out of long phrases?”
Times Saturday 23474 – a real stinker!
Solving time – I dread to think. Certainly over an hour, in three sessions. After a few weeks of fairly straightforward Saturday puzzles they’ve come up with an absolute stinker. For a while I was … Read more “Times Saturday 23474 – a real stinker!”
23,479 – Felicitous yet laboured?
Solving time : 4m46s – welcome relief for me after a taxing few days at the blockface. Quite a variety of feelings about the clues – two elegant &lits, some other very felicitous phrasing, but … Read more “23,479 – Felicitous yet laboured?”
23478: what about flight lieutenant?
Solving time : 13:11 I entered two words wrongly, but managed to recover them. Last word solved PERRON, of which I have never heard. Lots of fun clues today, but also a number of clues … Read more “23478: what about flight lieutenant?”
23,477 – one for old hands?
Solving time 7:15 A fairly good time for this, but there was lots of “instinctive solving” going on, with plenty of def-guessing and a few lucky spottings of probable wordplay material that helped. I got … Read more “23,477 – one for old hands?”