Sunday Times 4704 by Dean Mayer - outta sight
23:11. I spent a very high proportion of my time on two clues: 13ac and 5ac. I’m not really sure why: it’s just a question of looking at them the right way. I didn’t manage even this with 12dn, a...
View ArticleQuick Cryptic 625 by Teazel
This puzzle had a slightly odd feel, being generally of average difficulty but shot through with more than a few potential pitfalls in the shape of uncommon bits of vocab such as 14A, 2D, 17D, and 21D....
View ArticleTimes 26479 - The ramifications of orthography
Solving time: 40 minutesMusic: Coltrane, Giant StepsAfter struggling a little with the Saturday and Sunday puzzles, I was expecting something easy. However, this puzzle proved to be a bit of a...
View ArticleTimes Cryptic 26480
50 minutes for this one which was enjoyable enough to solve but when I came to blog it I was struck by a run of very general definitions that spoiled the feel of it for me. On the other hand the...
View ArticleQuick Cryptic 626 by Orpheus
I seem to be on Orpheus watch - having had the pleasure of blogging one last week. There's a lot of cleverness here as well. Look out for lots of abbreviations and a flock of birds. I was a little...
View ArticleQuick Cryptic Number 627 by Breadman
A great little crossword, only the second from this setter, I think. Just enough uncommon vocabulary to encourage confidence in unscrambling the wordplay, and many devices that could be taken at least...
View ArticleTimes 26481 - Saucepangram
Feeling sluggish this morning, probably from too much sun yesterday golfing in mid 30's heat, I was not optimistic, putting it off until after my first coffee instead of the solve-with-tea-in-bed...
View ArticleTimes Cryptic 26482 - August 4, 2016 A Tale of Two...
24 minutes dead for this, with a lot of Responsible Commentator checking on the way. A lot of this was solved in a fragmentary way: I had several probable bits of clues in divers places in the grid,...
View ArticleTimes Quick Cryptic No 628 by Izetti
Another lovely puzzle from Izetti, this. Unfortunately I made a complete hash of it: two non-entries and what turned out to be a mistake after 20 minutes. "Putech" for 1ac definitely didn't look like a...
View ArticleQuick Cryptic 629 by Pedro
Morning everyone. My first turn at blogging the Quickie, so please be gentle with me. Let me start with a shout-out to Jackkt for lending me his time machine which enables these blogs to be posted as...
View ArticleTimes Cryptic Crossword Book 19 - Puzzle Index
Once again Andy Burch in Australia has kindly compiled a Puzzle Index cross-checked with the latest in the Times Crossword Book series. These puzzles were originally published in 2011. This page will...
View ArticleTLS Crossword 1134 by Myrtilus (July 15, 2016): Dunkin' Donuts
If anyone's not doing the TLS Crossword because it's too onerous compared to the regular cryptic... this fine puzzle from Myrtilus is just the kind of offering to prove they've gotten the wrong end of...
View ArticleTimes 26,483: Bang! Shake-Shake-Shake The Slang
It might be that I'd recently finished blogging an inevitably more evocative TLS puzzle - just scroll down a bit if you want to check that out - but I found this a little bland for a Friday. A nice...
View ArticleDonald Yerrill
from today's Times Literary Supplement:Donald Yerrill, known to our solvers as “Tantalus”, died on July 22, 2016, at the age of ninety-two. Don set the vast majority of the TLS crosswords, and was...
View ArticleJumbo 1218
Typed up quickly this morning as last week was busy and I forgot my responsibility. I don't remember anything holding me up on this one.Apologies for any typos - I'm not the best at speedAcross1 FABLED...
View ArticleSaturday Times 26478 (July 30th)
Solving time 16:36, so I found it fairly tricky. It was a pangram too, and they generally are harder than average. Having said that, I can't remember what held me up now, as there was no obscure...
View ArticleSunday Times 4705 by David McLean - The Entertainer
Must admit I've come to expect a bit of a "slug-fest" with Harry's puzzles, but this one was a lot lighter in tone and a barrel of laughs whilst still offering a tricky challenge. Some lovely stuff -...
View ArticleMephisto 2918 - Paul McKenna
An interesting puzzle of about average difficulty slightly marred by lights 3D,4D,5D and 16D showing format of two word solutions. With 40 clues in total it is also slightly larger than usual. I'm not...
View ArticleTimes Quick Cryptic 630 by Joker
Much of this seemed straightforward but there were one or two tricky bits that needed careful thought e.g. the second 'unch' (unchecked letter) at 22ac where one has to decide whether it's the first...
View ArticleTimes 26485 – Playing for one’s average
A weekend for the sports fan, with Wellington (NZ), Sri Lanka and England all notching significant wins, with Manchester United chipping in with an insignificant one of their own.As for the proposal to...
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