Quick Cryptic 782 by Howzat
I found this quite a tricky puzzle from Howzat - I believe only the second time he or she has set a QC - and a good work out. Nothing obscure (although 23ac is probably not a word that most people have...
View ArticleTimes 26667 - finding the birthplaces of Zeus
I really enjoyed this one, a tad trickier than my recent blogging challenges but not unreasonably difficult; about half an hour to finish, parse and check a couple of 'must be' answers. It seems to...
View ArticleTimes 26668 - quelque choise?
Solving time : 8:35 - I suspect I will be more on the wavelength of the setter than some today, with a few bits of French that I remember from school days, a mathematical anagram that jumped out at me,...
View ArticleQuick cryptic No 783 by Oran
I fairly rattled through this one on the rattler, finishing and all parsed well inside 10 minutes, which is good for me. Nothing particularly noteworthy about this solve, but a pleasant enough test...
View ArticleQuick Cryptic 784 by Pedro
Morning / evening all. Commencing this blog at Perth airport, will complete it at Sydney airport, with the dreaded red-eye flight in between. Consequently it might be a bit befuddled, but at least...
View ArticleTimes 26,669: Beaten Like A Red-Headed...
Little club board glory for bleary pre-coffee me this morning, but all done inside the quarter hour at least. My first one in was the easy 11ac, but progress was relatively slow thereafter, with the...
View ArticleTLS Crossword 1163 by Broteas - February 17, 2017: Definite Alcohols
It seems like I don't often get to blog a Broteas, but when I do I always (a) really enjoy it and (b) find it a stiff challenge! And talking of stiff, this puzzle contains multiple references to potent...
View ArticleTimes Saturday 26664 - March 4, 2017. Clueless in Crosswordland.
Well, that was a nightmare! The “obvious” answer to the early version of 18dn (missing the text of the actual clue, which appeared some hours later) was wrong, leaving me totally at sea in the SE...
View ArticleMephisto 2949 - Paul McKenna
I found this one on the easier side, with a lot of the unfamiliar words having clear wordplay. I also spotted the possibility of the pun (PROPHECIES) across the top row helping me get 7 across.It is my...
View ArticleSunday Times 4736 - horseman hawk and hound
10:57. No real problems with this puzzle, just a smattering of slightly trickier ones in amongst some pretty straightforward double definitions and suchlike.There are two clues in this puzzle that rely...
View ArticleQuick Cryptic 785 by Izetti
Very much enjoyed this puzzle from Izetti, with a slew of good surfaces and some interesting vocab. 23A and 18D in particular made me smile in appreciation.The puzzle can be found here if the usual...
View ArticleTimes 26671 - Well, "crossword" didn't fit....
Solving time: 34 minutesMusic: Gene Ammons, Boss TenorI have to admit, this puzzle was a bit on the strange side. While most of the clues were routine, and a few were even chestnuts, there were a...
View ArticleCryptic 26671
If you are looking for the blog of Cryptic Crossword 26671 (Monday 13th) and navigate like I do from the diary in the top right, you can find it under Sunday 12th March. It was posted before midnight...
View ArticleTimes 26672
Around 30 minutes for this fairly straightforward puzzle that was perhaps more suited to a Monday than Monday's puzzle was. There's not a lot to say, but here's what there is...As usual definitions are...
View ArticleQuick Cryptic 786 by Tracy
Just clicked over 10 minutes for this - would have been faster if I hadn't enjoyed working out some of the, at times, intricate word play. Joint CODs to the two long down clues 3 and 5. A good QC,...
View ArticleQuick Cryptic 787 by Joker
Just the harder side of average, for me, with a couple of nudges that I now regard as chestnuts (it certainly does get easier!). I refer to ‘I = one’, ‘C = cold’, and ‘mostly = missing last letter’...
View ArticleTimes 26673 - where we find lady cats and tailless cats
Excuse brevity, our satellite internet was still down after a nasty storm, I am having to rush this sitting in a restaurant. An odd mix of easy clues and strange ones, a couple of definitions I found...
View ArticleTimes Cryptic 26674 - March 16, 2017 MIA
For those tackling this one early on the Club site, the lack of a clue for 9ac, and the lack of any means of typing in the letters not covered by the down clues meant that we were doomed to at least a...
View ArticleArticle 0
Well well, Rongo got the better of me with this one: all wrapped up nicely by the 10 minute mark, thank you very much, bar a blank stare at 11ac and 25ac... for five minutes, no less, at which pointI...
View ArticleTLS Crossword 1164 by Talos -- February 24, 2017
The Crossword Club solvers, included your blogger, posted some fast times with this puzzle (Dave Howell did it in 8.6 and I managed 20.45) so the references or the construction of the clues must have...
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