Mephisto 2961 - Paul McKenna
Well this is a first - Paul McKenna's treat of putting puns in the top row of Mephistos helped me out, because I cannot for the life of me figure out the wordplay for 1 across, so I'm relying on the...
View ArticleSunday Times 4748 by Jeff Pearce
18:08. I am writing this yesterday: I have been on holiday this week, so have not had time for the blog until now. As a result I can’t really remember much about the solve. My time suggests I found it...
View ArticleQuick Cryptic 845 by Mara
A crossword of average difficulty from Mara today, with perhaps more double definitions than we're used to seeing. Double definitions can either fill you with delight at the prospect of getting two...
View ArticleTimes 26743 - Beaver pelts and sot-weed
Solving time: 32 minutesMusic: John Coltrane, Coltrane JazzAlthough I solved this puzzle relatively quickly, I thought it was quite tricky. I didn't know the required meanings of 'chuggers' and...
View ArticleDabs - We're The Sweeney and we haven't had any diversity training
I never normally start a thread that might be considered off topic, so to speak, but after Thursday's enjoyable banter about DABS and Dixon of Dock Green, The Sweeney etc I couldn't resist posting a...
View ArticleTimes 26744
I found this one very hard but working steadily away at it I was satisfied to get there in the end without resorting to aids. Unfortunately though, I later discovered I had a wrong answer at 21 across...
View ArticleQuick Cryptic 846 by Hurley
An interruption means I only have a rough estimate of time at 16 minutes so this seemed a bit of a work out. Plenty of interesting word play to unravel and two long anagrams at 4 and 7dn taking some...
View ArticleTimes 26,745: Will You Still Need Me, Will You Still Read Me...
...when I blog twice a week? Don't worry, it's only temporary, to make up for Pip's kindly standing in for me last Friday, while I was in Barcelona gawping at the Sagrada Familia and sunburning my...
View ArticleQuick Cryptic 847 by Pedro
Solved in spare moments and blogged in a hurry, hence the later-than-usual post, so it’s even more difficult for me to judge its difficulty.I thought I was getting bored of all the anagram practice,...
View ArticleTimes Cryptic 26746 - June 8, 2017 No X here
Resolutely eschewing even the tiniest hint of politics, this maintains the absolute neutrality required on the actual polling day, lest any of us should be tempted to adjust our voting intentions by...
View ArticleTimes Quick Cryptic No 848 by Juno
A quick, and possibly unreliable, search shows this to be only Juno's fourth puzzle - the previous one being QC 430, all the way back in November 2015. On that occasion, blogged by Jack, there was a...
View ArticleTLS Crossword 1176 by Talos - May 19, 2017
It helped that I knew both the quotations and that they were longish ones anchoring the puzzle top and bottom. And with one exception (17d) the literary refrences were more or less within my range. I...
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Times 26,747: Festina Lente
I'm going to blame exit poll excitement for my going off by one on this - I had at 1dn FIREDECK, thinking "fire, energy, that makes sense, never heard of a firedeck but I'm sure it's something". I...
View ArticleQuick Cryptic 849 by Teazel
Just over five minutes to solve this Teazel teaser, not bad for a Friday. I'm a bit pressed for time today, so I'll post the parsing of the clues now and possibly add some observations later on. Or...
View ArticleTimes Saturday 26742 — June 3, 2017. It’s got my name on it
Pulling on the No 12 shirt again this week while our Saturday Centre Forward is away. If he’s done the puzzle, he surely won’t have missed the several spades (21dn) and one heart (7dn).The lower half,...
View ArticleJumbo 1268
Another Bank Holiday Monday one for me. There is nothing contentious about this one, but there are some well constructed clues.Across1 ARCHITECT - ARCH = structure, IT, E(nglish), CT = court6 PAPYRUS -...
View ArticleSunday Times 4749 by Dean Mayer
A highly enjoyable puzzle (as usual) from Dean, although I found it to be slightly less tricky than some of his offerings. The surface of 8a alone was worth the price of admission, and I'm sure Ringo...
View ArticleJumbo 1267 May 27, 2017
Took me about six times as long as the last Jumbo I blogged, and I think I might have even snuck a peek at some aids before submitting. So I hope you all agree this was a toughie.Here's how I parsed...
View ArticleMephisto 2962 - by Don Manley
A straightforward puzzle distinguished by two excellent clues at 35A and 20D. Across2 Invader beginning with cunning movement that brings protest (11, two words)HUNGER,MARCH; HUN-GERM-ARCH; Jarrow for...
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A Drink At The George This Wednesday?
Sorry to be proposing a meetup this late in the day, but it has come to my attention that your friend and mine aphis99 is going to be in London town all the way from Melbourne, Australia this week.Is...
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