Solving time : 13:45 I solved this in an anti-clockwise direction, rushing down the left hand side, filling in the bottom half, then gradually working up the right to finish with 4D (gasoline), which took … Read more “23472: clever stuff”
23,471 – a few tricky bits
Solving time 8:00 One or two clues here could have people struggling. Across 1 HEAD,STREAM – tempted by MAINSTREAM, with “current school” as iffy def, but M??? for 1D looked unpromising so the “main” bit … Read more “23,471 – a few tricky bits”
23,470 – True Blue
Solving time: 12:34 Sometimes, if you do something regularly at a particular time in the day, and you then try to do it at a different time of day, it’s harder to get into the … Read more “23,470 – True Blue”
23,469 – I lost the plot towards the end
Solving time : 1 hour 6 minutes A good range of clues with straightforward wordplay to get the more difficult answers. Lots of crossword terms featured that are quick to spot now I’ve been doing … Read more “23,469 – I lost the plot towards the end”
Mephisto 2414/Tim Moorey – My first Mephisto in a while
Solving time – 25 mins This is my first post in this blog, and I think I struck it lucky. This was a fairly straightforwardMephisto for which I had a slight advantage – a couple … Read more “Mephisto 2414/Tim Moorey – My first Mephisto in a while”
Sunday Times 4201/mistakes
Apparently this puzzle was published online with more than a couple of mistakes. I think I’ve been able to identify them… Across 1 BLUESTOC+KINGS – (close but)* followed by KINGS for “top blokes”, I suppose … Read more “Sunday Times 4201/mistakes”
Times Saturday 23462 – easiest Saturday for a while?
I forgot to make a note of my solving time last week, but I know it would have been sub-10 minutes but for a daft mistake at 5d which stopped me getting 5a for a … Read more “Times Saturday 23462 – easiest Saturday for a while?”
Jumbo 670 – Planes, trains and automobiles
Solving time: 18:58. No mistakes, but I dithered at the end over 30ac, 55ac and 21dn, none of which I was totally confident about. I think this was the most straightforward Jumbo for a while, … Read more “Jumbo 670 – Planes, trains and automobiles”
23,467 – some much-loved favourites
Solving time : 5m40s – remarkably just about my slowest this week, though it felt like a good time for this puzzle. Again almost a pangram (just K & V missing, and they’d have been … Read more “23,467 – some much-loved favourites”
23466: no cricket, no queue
Solving time : 11:27 Lots of interesting words in an almost pangrammatic grid. I suppose “bicycle quip” is not a common phrase. I am not very good at sporting references, but for some reason there … Read more “23466: no cricket, no queue”