Saturday Times 25568 (31st August)
Solving time 14:44, a very enjoyable solve out of the paper for a change, in a pub garden on a sunny day with a pint of cider, while waiting for the missus to come out of the hairdressers. Why do they...
View ArticleMephisto 2754 by Don Manley - I vant to be alone
One on the easier side I thought.Across1GARBOLOGISTS - GARBO-LO(GIS)TS; 10LAIR - LAIR(d); 11SPUNKIE - S(PUNK-I)E; 12ALCAIDE - (a citadel - t)*; T=leader in T(oledo); 13STYME - hidden (ta)STY-ME(al);...
View ArticleSunday Times 4553 (1 Sep 2013) by Jeff Pearce
Solving time: 39:25I wasn't keen on this one as it seemed to require an awful lot of specialised knowledge. There were lots of unknowns to me - the birds PRION and TOURACO, the plant ERIGERON, the fact...
View ArticleJumbo 1051 - the cheeky hidden one on Bank holiday Monday (26th August)
Completely missed this one as it snuck into a Bank holiday paper without much flagging up. Only when my calendar looked wrong this Sunday did I realise what had happened and quickly looked it up on the...
View ArticleTimes 25575 - Thank 'Eaven for Leetul Pearls
Another gentle Monday offering, with quite a few going in from the literals. No standouts and no complaints. 22 minutes, but one wrong.Across1 DISTINGUISHED - extinguished with the ex replaced by D +...
View ArticleCrossword Research update
I heard from Kathryn Friedlander this morning with an update to the research on crossword solving skills that some of us took part in a couple of years ago. For those who didn't, this involved solving...
View ArticleTimes 25,576
13:04 on the club timer. While that's obviously not the sort of time which would make me feel lightning fast on most daily puzzles, the uncrowded leaderboard so far suggests I was definitely on the...
View ArticleTimes 25577: (Y)es, French art
Solving time: 23:44Sorry this blog is up a bit late. So was I. But not too much trouble, especially on the left-hand side which seemed easier to me than the right. A few long anagrams aided the solve,...
View ArticleTimes 25,578
Solving time 15 minutesNo idea who should be blogging today but I'm posting this emergency blog at 16.00 UK timeEasy puzzle - one queryt at 5DAcross1MOBILISED - (LibDem is + o=nothing)*; 6CLEAR -...
View ArticleTimes 25579
Solving time: 51:24I plodded my way through this one fairly steadily, if not particularly quickly, without getting held up for more than a few minutes at any point. When I finished just before 1am,...
View ArticleSaturday Times 25574 (7th Sept)
Solving time 21:16 - I think I found this a bit tricky just because I was getting tired after already solving the previous Thursday and Friday puzzles in the same session. Good puzzle though - I liked...
View ArticleTime Jumbo 1052
34:33 on the Club timer; in the preamble to my last Jumbo blog, I described my time of 34:36 as "pretty much bang on my average time for the Jumbo (or at least my usual time for an average Jumbo, if...
View ArticleMephisto 2767 - Tim Moorey
Occasionally Tim Moorey throws a little twist into his Mephisto puzzles - it's been a while since he last did this from memory (maybe Mephisto 2500?). When I solved 1 across and 9 down I thought there...
View ArticleSunday Times 4554 (8 Sep 2013) by Dean Mayer
Solving time: 56:57A typical Dean puzzle with lots of slick surfaces and clever wordplay. There were a few words I didn't know - MAVEN, BAGASSE and MANIFEST DESTINY, but all were gettable from the...
View ArticleTimes 25581 - And today's blogger is....
Solving time: 21 minutesMusic: Berlioz, Symphonie Fantastique, Colin Davis/LSO...er, me. I thought it was my turn, but somehow I have gotten into my mind the idea that I had blogged last week. A quick...
View ArticleTimes 25,582
Solving time 25 minutesPerhaps a little harder than of late but still not a really difficult one. The cell may cause some problems I guess. All in all a reasonable puzzle.Across1GANYMEDE - G(ANY)MEDE;...
View ArticleTimes Crossword 25,583 - Dog Days..
Solving Time: Just under 20 minutes for all but two, (14ac & 2dn) then another ten for them, one of which I still don't quite get. So harder than average, not disastrously so but with one or two...
View ArticleTimes 25,584
Solving time 20 minutesAgain, no idea who should be blogging this. Done in a hurry so help needed with 11A and 23A please and forgive any errors.Best puzzle for some time I thoughtAcross1UP,STICKS -...
View ArticleTimes 25585 - Sting in the Head
I raced out of the starting blocks with this one but very soon began to realise that it was not going to be as easy as I originally thought. An hour later with much of the bottom half incomplete -...
View ArticleJumbo 1053
Posting this quickly as I am away. No particular issues or queries - a fairly standard JumboAcross1 DISCONCERTS - DISCS = records, around ON, CERT = winner, inevitably7 JACKET - JACK = tar, (th)E...
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