Quick Cryptic 850 by Izetti
Considering that I have been blogging QCs since #1 in March 2014 and Izetti is one of the original regular setters, he has appeared on my scheduled blogging day on remarkably few occasions - indeed...
View ArticleTimes 26749 - Through taverns measureless to man....
Solving time: 42 minutesMusic: Chopin, Preludes, ArrauA number of difficulties today. I was late starting, and was just about to print out the puzzle when I received a phone call that delayed me half...
View ArticleTimes Quick Cryptic 851 by Joker
I'm standing in for Chris today as he is on his hols. This one took me 9 minutes.As usual definitions are underlined in bold italics, {deletions are in curly brackets} and [anagrinds, containment,...
View ArticleTimes 26750
This one took me 29 minutes so for once I was within my 30 minute target, a somewhat rare occurrence these days. I don't often take much notice of surface readings but several good ones caught my eye...
View ArticleQuick Cryptic 852 by Orpheus
Last time I was on blogging duty for a QC I opined that it was fairly straightforward, only to find that most of you put it at the trickier end of the spectrum. And the time before that, vice versa....
View ArticleTimes 26751 - un jeu d'enfant ... or perhaps not, you say.
... or a piece of gateau, I thought, a rather bland puzzle, more Monday-ish than the usual Wednesday middle to hard fare. Several straightforward anagrams, a hidden word you could guess if you didn't...
View ArticleTimes 26752 - pass the 21
Solving time : 8:18 - there was a fair bit of biffing going on here, and I hope I can figure out the wordplay as I write this one up. I'm also relieved as there are a few of my favorite words to...
View ArticleQuick cryptic No 853 by Hawthorn
A rushed blog today, I’m afraid, due to lack of time and pressure of work, and other circumstances outwith my control. This inevitably means that there will be a mistake somewhere in what follows, for...
View ArticleTLS Crossword 1177 by Praxiteles - May 26, 2017 Here let us wallow
This was an entertaining if relatively untaxing grid, which I completed in 34 minutes without having to Google around, though some guess work was checked up on to confirm lest I commit egregious errors...
View ArticleQuick Cryptic 854 by (Sir Donald) Breadman
Another Friday struggle for me, falling outside the magical (?) 11-minute barrier by one second. An enjoyable challenge as usual though.Breadman seemed to dip into the "extended" set of Crossword...
View ArticleTimes 26,753: & That's Your L(o/i)t
No complaints about the Fridayosity level of today's puzzle - there were a lot of things to think about across the board, and a few clues I had to think about so much to feel confident that they were...
View ArticleTimes Saturday 26748 - June 10, 2017. And the polls are in!
Good to be back! Thanks to McText for standing in.This puzzle had a slightly different feel to it. The surfaces of the clues all read nicely, and some of the definitions had a nice twist to them, with...
View ArticleTimes Jumbo 1269
Maybe not the easiest ever Times Jumbo, and I'd definitely never come across 40ac before!As always, * indicates an anagram.Across1FIRST-DAY COVER - FIRST DAY, + COVER8PLAY A PART - PLAY + APART13OBOLI...
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 ArticleTimes Jumbo 1269
Maybe not the easiest ever Times Jumbo, and I'd definitely never come across 40ac before!As always, * indicates an anagram.Across1FIRST-DAY COVER - FIRST DAY, + COVER8PLAY A PART - PLAY + APART13OBOLI...
View ArticleSunday Times 4750 by David McLean
17:12. I’m writing this on a train from Cardiff to London immediately after solving the puzzle, so unlike last time I can actually remember something about it. I started quite quickly, and after five...
View ArticleMephisto 2963 - Tim Moorey
I got a pretty decent chunk of this out without needing the dictionary, but a few in the bottom of the grid had me scrambling to Chambers. There's two that I'm not 100% sure on the wordplay but I'm...
View ArticleQuick Cryptic 855 by Teazel
After a disastrous weekend during which some decidedly abnormal temperatures on Teesside gave my Dairy Milk cache a molten consistency that did not enjoy my favour, Teazel has served up a puzzle that...
View ArticleTimes 26755 - Hare's Heaven!
Solving time: 22 minutesMusic: Mozart, Piano sonatas, Mitsuko UchidaWell, with my fourth consecutive week on duty, we're back to easy Monday. I was a little late getting started, as the US Open was on...
View ArticleTimes Quick Cryptic 856 by Mara
I'm standing in again for Chris who you will be relieved to know will be back from his hols to resume blogging next week.I found this one straightforward and completed it in 8 minutes. Rather too many...
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