For devotees of the QUITCH, there is now an analysis of the difficulty by setter. You can find it by starting here. There is also a link available at the top of the Trends page … Read more “Difficulty of Quick Crosswords by Setter”
Quick Cryptic no 3039 by Hurley
An elegant and enjoyable puzzle from Hurley which should not cause too many alarms.
Times Cryptic Jumbo 1739 (Saturday 28 June 2025)
There were some helpful gimmes but many very tricky clues, answers and wordplay along the way.
Times Cryptic 29274 – Sat, 5 July 2025. Know wot I mean, guv?
A few interesting and unfamiliar words here, including one I didn’t realise came from Cockney Rhyming Slang.
Times 29279 – torture, and not mercy
It was such a pity not to finish this fabulous puzzle correctly because I felt outsmarted from the start but chipped away and still fell short.
Times Quick Cryptic No 3038 by Asp
A Quick Cryptic puzzle at the harder end of the difficulty scale to keep us on our toes for a Friday from Asp today.
Fortnightly Weekend Quick Cryptic. This time it is my turn to provide the extra weekend entertainment. You can find the crossword, entitled “See-saw to Arkansas” here.
29278 Not the end of the world.
18.33 Most of this I found relatively straightforward, and the geographical and literary references were known to me, even if I misremembered the nationality of the writer at 4. Where I hit a bit … Read more “29278 Not the end of the world.”
Times Quick Cryptic No 3037 by Shay
About average difficulty (for a Shay puzzle, that is).
Times 29277 – still trying
Entertainment of a fairly gentle kind, this week.
Times Quick Cryptic No 3036 by Joker
Solving time: 9:34 In similar fashion to my previous blog (QC3024 by Teazel), I was once again breezeblocked at the final hurdle in the South East corner of the grid. Before that, the going had … Read more “Times Quick Cryptic No 3036 by Joker”