Times Quick Cryptic 1051 by Mara
I completed this in a medium difficulty time which would have proved quicker had I not missed 1dn. I only found this relatively easy clue when I was struggling to complete 8ac. How does one miss a...
View ArticleTimes Cryptic 26990
I solved all but 7dn in 45 minutes, stared blankly at the remaining clue for another 15 and then used aids to come up with a word I never heard of and would never have guessed in a million years....
View ArticleQuick Cryptic 1052 by Hawthorn
Not sure if this was particularly tricky or if I just made unduly heavy weather of it, but this took me an age to complete. I suspect it was probably a bit of both: some tight cluing from Hawthorn,...
View ArticleTimes 26991 - familiarity breeds chickens
I'm not sure how easy or hard this puzzle will prove to be on the snitchometer, but I found it mostly straightforward; it seemed that many of the clues I'd either seen the likes of before, or were kind...
View ArticleTimes Quick Cryptic No 1053 by Hurley
Eleven minutes this morning, which is just outside my new target time, but this was a nice puzzle from Hurley. I spent an extra minute or so trying to parse SPENDER for 18a after falling for the...
View ArticleTimes 26992 - don't get 27 in the 22, it's rather a 15
Solving time: 11:46.Greetings from New Orleans - I've been at a conference here the last week and been pretty "busy" so I haven't been keeping up with the puzzles this week. Relieved that this one...
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Times 26,993: Guess Who's Back, Friday's Back
Be careful what you wish for, eh? I think, pending horryd's verification of course, that this was the long-awaited stinker. I was very grateful to have tackled this on paper because it wouldn't have...
View ArticleQuick Cryptic 1054 by Des
I rather liked this. Not sure I have blogged Des before, but this one has a certain wit about it and certainly raised a few smiles. At one point I thought there was a very cruel Nina appearing, with...
View ArticleTimes Cryptic No 26988 - Saturday, 17 March 2018. Another good workout.
Another fine puzzle, but for me much harder than last week. I did about a quarter, and then came to a dead stop, before inching through the SW, SE, NW and finally NE. LOI was 6dn, where I claim a...
View ArticleTimes Cryptic Jumbo No 1312 - 10th March : Kilroy was here!
I think I have been a bit spoiled by my last two Jumbos to blog, which were quite chewy and satisfying to finish. This was rather more run-of-the-mill, taking me little over half an hour to complete...
View ArticleMephisto 3003 - Paul McKenna
There's one piece of wordplay that eludes me right now, but I must say I enjoyed this puzzle a lot. A little bit of a change to have a 11x13 grid, after a lengthy run of 12x12. The three long across...
View ArticleSunday Times 4790 by Jeff Pearce
21:48. I’m afraid I can’t remember much about this. I do remember that I found it mostly very straightforward apart from a small number of stubborn clues at the end of the solve, but I can’t even...
View ArticleTimes 26995 - Monday Monster
Well, talk about instant retribution from the crossword gods! On Friday I dared to wonder if I would ever on my Monday watch get a puzzle as difficult as the one dished up that day, and here I am today...
View ArticleQC 1055 by Orpheus - Luddite's Revenge
This week I decided to try to overcome my Ludditism with crosswords and complete this online rather than with pencil and paper. I was pleased to see that it had a positive effect on my time, even with...
View ArticleTimes Quick Cryptic 1056 by Teazel
Lots to enjoy here - especially cod 14ac. A couple of points of interest - 9ac and 8dn. Many and varied clue types and enough of a puzzle for me to be surprised to have come inside the 10 minute...
View ArticleTimes Cryptic 26996
I needed 44 minutes to crack this one although I don't think there was anything particularly difficult about it.As usual definitions are underlined in bold italics, {deletions are in curly brackets}...
View ArticleQuick Cryptic 1057 by Izetti
A good challenge for which I wasn’t quite on the right wavelength, so found difficult. I was saved to some extent by a number of short double definitions which put a few checkers scattered around the...
View ArticleTimes 26997 - on a different wavelength
I struggled with this one. Even when I had all the answers in and thought they were correct, I still found it a stretch in some cases to reconcile the definition with the answer or parse the clue...
View ArticleTimes Cryptic No 26998 Thursday, 29 March 2018 Forget Oxfam, feed Twiggy
My experience this week is that the crosswords have been getting steadily easier, with this one requiring 15’ 15”. However, I am very aware that there are entries here that may not be in everyone’s...
View ArticleTimes Quick Cryptic No 1058 by Rongo
A tough one today from Rongo, providing a good bridge to the 15x15 crossword (although perhaps less so this week). I came in a bit shy of 17 minutes, twice the time of Tuesday's QC which I did just...
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