Solving time 7:00 Quite a few unusual words and meanings here. Satisfied with the time considering a poor start – neither of 1 or 6 across fell on first look, and a slight delay for … Read more “23,554 – quite tricky”
Times 23553/Sicily vacation
Solving time: 55’ but not sure about one answer I did this mostly on a paper copy over breakfast in Manchester (that’s N. England not Sicily). Fortunately on my Sicily vacation I took a wrong … Read more “Times 23553/Sicily vacation”
Times Saturday 23545 – better late than never!
Solving time 14:26 I was away for the weekend and didn’t get a chance to post this entry until now, so apologies for the delay. I’ve just had to re-solve it this morning as I … Read more “Times Saturday 23545 – better late than never!”
23,552 – The Difficult Crossing
Solving time : 1hr 24I found this pretty hard going – but very enjoyable. A few I guessed straightaway from the definition and didn’t fully work out til a bit later – 1ac, 17ac, 29ac. … Read more “23,552 – The Difficult Crossing”
ST 4215 – Stretchered-owski
Solving time: 4:33 Generally straightforward, largely because of the transparency of the definitions. A couple of quibbles (19ac, 23ac, 22dn), one editing error (I think – 3dn) and one explanation I’m unsure about (25ac) but … Read more “ST 4215 – Stretchered-owski”
23,550 – Battling with action stations
Morning, all. I’m your new regular Friday blogger, and, although I don’t ever hope to fill the shoes of my illustrious predecessor, I hope that we’ll get along. Today’s puzzle wasn’t as difficult as some … Read more “23,550 – Battling with action stations”
23549 – symptom of daftness
Solving time : 8:26 This started well, with no real hold-ups in the top half. Bottom half took a bit longer, with the linked 17D and 24A going in last. Rather than blaming my stupidity … Read more “23549 – symptom of daftness”
23,548 – Nutcracker rides again
Solving time 6:30 Quite a few novel words as answers or used in wordplay, but clued so that I didn’t have any big hold-ups. Possibly fairly quick because there’s no significant general or literary knowledge … Read more “23,548 – Nutcracker rides again”
Times 23,547 – lecher, trollop, Madonna (of old) to compensate
Very good surface readings in the admirably brief clues in this puzzle. I thought it was an excellent puzzle overall. Solving time: 19 mins (fast for the Times for me). * = anagramACROSS1 C(IT)ADE Lenin … Read more “Times 23,547 – lecher, trollop, Madonna (of old) to compensate”
23,546 – Well, nobody’s perfect
Solving time : Just over an hourI didn’t get off to a great start today. I smiled at a few clues and learnt a few pieces of useless information along the way. The NE corner … Read more “23,546 – Well, nobody’s perfect”