26302 Good grief, Penfold, I think I know where he's hiding!
18.17 got me home on this one, but that did include being a good scout and actually parsing everything. I also lost time looking for my lucky penny so that I could get 5 right - it came down heads. A...
View ArticleQuick Crossword 479 by Hawthorn
Several entertaining clues here - 10a,12a in particular. LOI propound, even after getting pro and working my way through various currencies. Wordplay in 18d perhaps a bit obscure, but I suppose one...
View ArticleTimes 26,303: My Interrobang Won't Come Back
I don't know what the record is for number of question marks in the clues of a Times crossword, but double figures of them seemed quite a lot, and was probably a good sign that we were in for something...
View ArticleJumbo 1183
I had to check a couple of the answers and components as they were outside my knowledge, but the wordplay for all the clues was clear.A fair Jumbo for Boxing Day.Happy New Year to all.Across1 ANGOLA -...
View ArticleSaturday Times 26298 (2nd Jan)
First Saturday puzzle of the new year, and it still has a couple of seasonal answers, as if it didn't quite make the cut for Christmas week itself! A fine puzzle nevertheless. 14:44 here, with my COD...
View ArticleSunday Times 4675 by David McLean
It was with a mixture of trepidation and excitement that I strode to the crease last Sunday morning to take guard against a new bowler of whom I knew nothing (even his name had been withheld from the...
View ArticleMephisto 2888 by Paul McKenna - King Charles Meets Arthur English
The first puzzle of 2016 and a standard offering that shouldn't unduly trouble seasoned solversAcross1BILLED - B(ILL)ED; "divan for one"="divan is DBE"; caressed=BILLED (and cooed); 5INCITE - INC-IT-E;...
View ArticleQuick Cryptic 480 by Izetti
I struggled to get going on this one, perhaps a little in awe of the setter as I don’t often have the opportunity blog one of Izetti's offerings, but having finished eventually after 14 minutes I...
View ArticleTimes 26305 – None Dare Call It Conspiracy
He’s had a go at that awful Kennedy fellow, but is Oliver Stone up for the challenge of his – or anybody else’s – lifetime, attempting to get to grips with the mother and father of all conspiracy...
View ArticleTimes 26,306
Lovely stuff, this. Loads of clues where I started out baffled before suddenly realising what the clue was actually after, and who doesn't love a good penny-drop moment? It also strikes me on...
View ArticleQuick Crytpic 481 by Flamande
Lots to enjoy in this puzzle by Flamande - humour and well crafted word play. Hard to call a COD but think it has to go to 20ac. It's even harder for me to call the difficulty of the puzzle - having...
View ArticleQuick Cryptic 482 by Orpheus
An enjoyable offering from Orpheus, with some delightful moments of whimsy (particularly liked 15a and 17d). I thought this one was at the easier end of the scale, but you never know... Quite a few...
View ArticleTimes 26307 - Hung for too long
Having finished it, I think this is another fine puzzle on a par with the last two days; perhaps They have indeed noted keriothe's graph (v. 26302) and decided to shake us up a bit. Unfortunately it...
View ArticleQuick cryptic 483 by Joker
For me this was the trickiest of the most recent puzzles and took me about 7 minutes. With this one, however, it would be worthwhile to forget solving speed and savour a demonstration of the setter's...
View ArticleTimes 26308 - would you like a little whine with that cheese?
Solving time : A more than slightly distracted 14:44 - I got off to a rip-roaring start, and slowed down right to the end where we finished with one complete biff, so hopefully as I'm writing this up...
View ArticleQuick Crossword 484 by Tracy
Some clever mis-directions in a number of clues this week. In 24a at first I took shock for the anagram indicator and looked for a treatment, though I don’t know why now – it’s a pretty standard use. I...
View ArticleTimes 26,309: Clue Rush Fever At The O.K. Tea Rooms
Better make this snappy, as due to being out at the Lumiere Light Festival till late last night and dealing with lugubrious juvenile nosebleeds this morning, I find myself writing this at work, where...
View ArticleJumbo 1185 (New Year's Day)
I thought this one was of about average difficulty, with nothing so devious as to cause much trouble even to those who may have overindulged the previous evening. An interesting mix of clues, though,...
View ArticleTimes 26304 (9th Jan) - Neutrino Storm To Destroy World!!!
Sorry about the (hopefully) fake Daily Express headline, but it felt like that at the time. My 7:54 is languishing in 95th place on the leaderboard, 5 seconds behind Jason and about 8 seconds ahead of...
View ArticleMephisto 2889 - Don Manley
Last Sunday here was kind of cold and miserable, so I recall racing through both the Mephisto and Sunday Times offering in pretty quick succession.A lot of times with Don Manley crosswords I've relied...
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