Saturday Times 25580 (14th Sept)
I'll get to this sometime in the afternoon. I knew I should have done it last night when I had a bit of time!Well, here it is, bit of a rush job I'm afraid. Solved in around 14 minutes on the train...
View ArticleSunday Times 4555 (15 Sep 2013) by Tim Moorey
Solving time: 37:04I found this one generally straightforward for the most part. A lot of the answers went in without much thought required. There were a few, though, that took a fair bit of thinking...
View ArticleMephisto 2768 by Paul McKenna
I enjoyed this puzzle which I found about middle of the road in terms of difficulty. I really liked 7A and 22D.Across1ARBORETA - AR(BORE)T-A; about=A; 7POOR - POO(l)-R; nice clue; 10HOUR - HOUR(i);...
View ArticleTimes 25587 - One from the Nursery Slopes
Nothing much to hold folk up here, so long as non-sporty types are sufficently clued up on their sweaty types in the scrum. I did this online at home while Typhoon Usagi petered out and managed a...
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Times 25,588
22:40 on the club timer. Some tricky stuff here, among the more obvious elements, but a generally good and entertaining midweek solve.Across1COCKATRICE - COCK(=herald of dawn) A TRICE(=a second). A...
View ArticleTimes 25589: Getting “difficult or awkward treatment”
Solving time: 27:52Happy to have managed this under the 30 today. Thought it was going to take much longer with, as yesterday, lengthy hold ups in the SE. It took the longish 15ac, 13dn and 21ac to...
View ArticleTimes 25590: Hmmmm...
Solving time : Hit submit after 16:44 and was greeted with the "1 incorrect" message. I had a peek through it and I don't see any typos straight off so I might be missing something. I've been accused...
View ArticleTimes 25617 - Get the bird? Just the opposite, perhaps....
Solving time: 34 minutesMusic: Schubert, Impromptus, KempffThis is an average puzzle for a Monday. At first, I thought it was going to be a gallop, as I filled in rather simple clues at a rapid pace,...
View ArticleJumbo 1058
Apologies for the lateness of this post - a weekend away without a computer is to blame.I don't recall any particular issues with this one, apart from 8D where I may be missing something.If the...
View ArticleTimes 25,618 - Celebrities In Abundance
An easy 15 minute stroll in the park. I need some help with the Minstrel reference at 9D which I solved straight from the literal.I'm acting as a DJ at a Halloween Tea Dance this afternoon so will be...
View ArticleTimes Crossword 25,619 - Championship First Preliminary, Second Crossword
... at least I hope it is, since I am writing this blog up in advance, having done the crossword on the day. I did complete all the three crosswords in Prelim. 1 (as a guest) - almost, but not quite,...
View Article25620 One off the top shelf, perhaps.
27.39 for this, so for me on the hard side, and a rather daunting 3 Andy Gilhams worth. Having only just returned from White Hart Lane, where at the tenth time of asking Spurs managed actually to win...
View ArticleTimes 25621 - The New Monday
I expect to see some fast solving times today as most of this was very easy indeed. I got held up towards the end by a couple of shades of meaning I didn’t quite see though the answers should have been...
View ArticleTimes Jumbo 1059
I thought this was fairly straightforward; it took me 17 minutes, plus checking the answer to 39dn (PHILISTIA).As ever, * indicates an anagram.Across1SPENCER - sounds like (Edmund) Spenser. Hubert...
View ArticleSaturday Times 25616 (26th Oct)
Sorry about the delay getting this one up - my weekends are getting as busy as my weekdays lately! Anyway, a fairly steady solve in around 15 minutes. Getting the four 14-letter ones in early was...
View ArticleMephisto 2774 by Paul McKenna
The third relatively easy one on the trot. With "ologist" obvious in the anagrist at 1A and particularly 2D and 3D being give-aways 1A put up no resistance and in this grid that means a fast start....
View ArticleSunday Times 4561 (27 Oct 2013) by Tim Moorey
Solving time: About 35 minutesI found this a pretty straightforward solve. There were one or two I wasn't overly keen on. I didn't understand the relevance of Peebles in 1a, other than that it's a town...
View ArticleTimes 25623 - Oh, Lewis...
What would Morse have thought of this? Nothing to distract him from the tedium of staving off adoring females and keeping up his lugubrious aspect 24/7. 16 minutes for me, so who knows what records may...
View ArticleTimes 25,624
Something of a wake-up call after yesterday's cakewalk; this puzzle was a proper challenge, with concise elegant surfaces, and requiring much more thought. Anyway, timed at 18:45, and with an error to...
View ArticleTimes 25625: First Prelim, Puzzle 3 — GENA, MEG AND RON (x2) HUG?
Solving time: 34:27As the time suggests, far too difficult for me. Gives me even greater admiration for the folk who complete the Prelims (let alone the Grand Finals) all correct and in the given time....
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