Times 25537 - A Welcome Relief
Following events since last weekend it was with some relief that I solved a long answer (12ac) as the puzzle was printing off and realised that I was probably in for an easy time of it today. In the...
View ArticleTimes 20,154 Club Monthly - July. It Was Such A Romantic Affair.
Solving time 45 minutesI'm standing in for Jerry, who is mountain walking (and cheese and wine sampling possibly)Another very high standard puzzle that was a real pleasure to solve. An exercise in...
View ArticleTimes Jumbo 1044
In contrast to the last Jumbo I blogged on (1039), I thought this one was at the easier end of the scale, taking me 16 minutes.As usual, * indicates an anagram.Across1ACROPOLIS - A CROP, + silo...
View ArticleSaturday Times 25532 (20th July)
I'm working today (again) and trying to type up the blog as I'm sat here, but I logged on at 7:30 this morning and have hardly had a chance to look at it yet! And they said weekend support should be...
View ArticleTimes Jumbo 1044 - correction for 10dn
Many thanks to topicaltim for pointing out that the answer for 10dn in Times Jumbo 1044 is NIGRITUDE (as indicated by the wordplay, an anagram of 'intrigued'), and not NEGRITUDE, which I and, alas, so...
View ArticleMephisto 2760 by Don Manley - A Trojan Mystery
Middle of the road Mephisto. I can't parse 4D - all ideas welcomed!Across1STIRRAH - STIR-RAH; cheer=RAH; a corruption of Sir and Sirrah in Stirling; 6DAGGA - DAG-GA(ga); Aussie eccentric=DAG; African...
View ArticleSunday Times 4547 (21 Jul 2013) by Jeff Pearce
Solving time: Just under 40 minutesI got the four 13 letter answers quite quickly, which helped a lot at the start, but I ran into trouble towards the bottom with 22/23/25/26/27 all taking a long time...
View ArticleTimes 25539 - A Mixed Bag
Some easy ones, some inchoate chestnuts, one obscure horse race - a farrago of a puzzle for this sunny Monday morning. 36 minutes.Across1 OEDIPUS - OPUS around E + DI ('England's rose')5 ISOBARS -...
View ArticleTimes 25,540
15:39 on the club timer. Fans of economical clueing will like this one (it might almost be an exercise in using the least words possible for a Times daily), though the most concise clues are not always...
View ArticleTimes 25541: Don’t fret
Solving time: 21:48Taking a leaf out of Jack’s book, I decided to take this one as slowly as possible. But it wasn’t all that difficult. There’s still one I can’t parse (26ac) and await revelations...
View ArticleTimes 25542 - Hello, Hello, I'm Back Again
Solving time : 19:40 on the club timer, which with the puzzle out for about two and a half hours, puts me at fourth. I got very bogged down in the last few - it seemed to me that there were a few more...
View ArticleTimes 25543
Solving time: 1:10:31I really needed a quick and easy one today as I'm off on holiday in the morning and I've got to be up extremely early to catch my flight. I found this really quite tough, so it...
View ArticleSaturday Times 25538 (27th July)
Solving time 18:02, which seemed pretty quick for this one. Indeed, after 5 minutes I only had three answers in place, but then something clicked and I raced away with the rest of it. Great puzzle,...
View ArticleTimes Jumbo 1045 (20 Jul 2013)
Solving time: I didn't time it but it must have been over two hours spread across several sessions.This felt like very tough one to me, but maybe I just wasn't on the setter's wavelength. Lots of good...
View ArticleSunday Times 4548 (28 Jul 2013) by Dean Mayer
Solving time: Most of a flight from Manchester to FaroI struggled to get on the setter's wavelength with this one, so most of it was like pulling teeth. Only much more enjoyable. Although often very...
View ArticleMephisto 2761 by Tim Moorey - Who Was That Lady I Saw You With Last Night?
A grid that created what were nearly four minature crosswords that I solved in the order NE, SW, SE, NW. The puzzle has four women's names as answers - just as well Jack doesn't do Mephisto. I thought...
View ArticleTimes 25545 - Yes, 1 across sums it up nicely
Solving time: 35 minutesMusic: Old Blind Dogs, Wherever You may BeA typically moderate Monday puzzle that I made relatively quick work of, being in a bit of a hurry to catch up after wasting a weekend...
View ArticleTimes 25546 -
Jim's on holiday so can't do this one. I was meaning to ask for a sub, but in the end I found myself having to stay up all night for a new software release so it's given me something to do in the...
View ArticleTimes Crossword 25,547 - Do give a damn
Solving Time: About 20 minutes. I thought this of roughly average difficulty. It has some excellent clues and I enjoyed it.cd = cryptic definition, dd = double definition, rev = reversed, anagrams are...
View ArticleTimes 25548 - Green Eggs & Ham
What a tough nut to crack, not helped by the fact that the two London grandchildren are visiting and demanding to hear for the umpteen times the Dr Suess classic interspersed with tales of Peppa Pig....
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