Sunday Times 4792 by David McLean - cryptic boogaloo
8:31. This was a pretty straightforward puzzle, but a lot of fun to solve. Lots of great clues but 3dn is a particular highlight. So many thanks to Harry, and here’s how I think it all works…...
View ArticleMephisto 3005 - Tim Moorey
Another different sized grid, and another theme... of looking for April Fools in the grid. It took some searching, but the hint that 14 across was relevant got me there. There are two cuckoos hidden...
View ArticleTimes Cryptic Jumbo No 1314 (24/3/18): You're The One For Me, Tbilisi
Elegant is the first word that springs to mind to describe this appealing Jumbo, which I rattled through inside of a quarter hour, that is to say about 1.5 Jasons.First-Ones-In 16ac and 17ac in rapid...
View ArticleTimes 27007
Time: 35 minutesMusic: Brahms, Violin Concerto, Kogan/KondrashinDespite my reasonable time, I suspect this was a difficult puzzle. There were many obscurities you need to know, especially in the...
View ArticleQC 1065 by Teazel
Last time I was sitting in this seat I referred to the little game that the crossword gods seem to play with us when the mood takes them where they taunt us with answers that are literally under our...
View ArticleTimes Quick Cryptic 1066 by Flamande
We are used to references from setters based on times of year/seasons. It would be interesting to know if setters are aware of which number their puzzle will be allocated. I suspect not as I couldn’t...
View ArticleTimes Cryptic 27008
A little on the tricky side at times but there were enough straightforward clues here to provide checkers to help with the more difficult ones. I completed the grid with everything parsed in 38...
View ArticleTimes Quick Cryptic No 1067 by Orpheus - Wed, 11 April 2018. A flying visit.
I’m here in a cameo appearance today, filling in for william_j_s, who is on holidays. Good luck to him. My usual beat is the Saturday Cryptic, where I have a week to do the blog, so today will be an...
View ArticleTimes 27009 - aarrr, Jim lad, avast ye!
What larks! Three quarters of this little beauty done in under fifteen minutes, with occasional recourse to a sip of the grog. The north-west corner was looking odd, with a two-letter word ending in V...
View ArticleTimes Cryptic No 27010, Thursday, 12 April 2018: Murder in the fourth degree
My Polish mother-in-law was considering the relative merits of dogs and, so the possibly apocryphal story goes, couldn’t decide between a Coolie and a Damnation. I’d like to think that the memory of...
View ArticleTimes Quick Cryptic No 1068 by Izetti
A touch on the harder side today from Izetti, which is to say probably average for Izetti, and there was indeed some typical tricksiness going on. Some nicely unusual wording as well - If I'd seen a...
View ArticleBank Holiday Jumbo 1316
Well this was a nice meaty puzzle for Easter Monday, full of clever stuff. I didn't record an exact time but I certainly took over an hour to wrestle this into submission so it was definitely harder...
View ArticleTimes Quick Cryptic 1069 by Tracy
I've been doing this QC blogging malarkey on an alternate Friday basis for over 6 months now and, I have to say, I enjoy it immensly. The QC was something that enticed me to doing the 15x15 Times...
View ArticleTimes 27,011: Friday the Sporteenth
I thought this was a lovely puzzle, clearly of an acceptable Friday difficulty level without being monstrously hard at any part. Perhaps as comeuppance for the puzzle two weeks ago that was all about...
View ArticleTimes Cryptic No 27006 - Saturday 07 April 2018. Blink and you’ve missed it!
I printed the crossword soon after it appeared on the Club site, and solved it in about 40 minutes – so not too hard for me, and no horrible obscurities, I’m happy to report.The only hiccup was when I...
View ArticleJumbo Cryptic 1315
A few unknowns and semi-knowns in this one but all with wordplay that helped. FOI AVIATOR, LOI TREMULANT, COD to PAR FOR THE COURSE for the fishy pun.I saw that the blog for 1316 (a Bank Holiday Jumbo)...
View ArticleSunday Times 4793 by Jeff Pearce
An enjoyable puzzle from Jeff this week, not too tricky but it kept me interested throughout and the whole thing was, I thought, beautifully crafted. Elegant surfaces abounded, but I'd probably single...
View ArticleMephisto 3006 - Paul McKenna
An interesting grid for an average puzzle. In the blog, the definition in the clue is underlined and followed by the answer; the parsing; any commentsACROSS1 If this shipyard worker were on time he’d...
View ArticleTimes 27013 - Peckinpah Meets Coward?
Sorry, owing to a number of unforeseen circumstances that I will not bore you with, I need to do this on the iPad. So, no bells and whistles (or clues), I’m afraid. A little under 25 minutes for this,...
View ArticleTimes Quick Cryptic 1070 by Joker
Mostly completed within 10 minutes but I had a mental block over my last one in at 10ac and went off the scale, forgettting to note my actual finishing time.As usual definitions are underlined in bold...
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