Quick Cryptic No 208 by Joker
Apologies for the rather tardy blog. It's not appearing online today for me, so I had to buy the paper after a scheduled visit to the dentist; thankfully I am in chilly Oxfordshire for Christmas so...
View Article251214 Cricket one left, right?
Not much of a festive feel about this one, unless you're antipodean, I suppose, in which case the relative abundance of cricket references might make some sense. As far as I can make out, there are no...
View ArticleClub Monthly 20171 - December 2014
Solving Time: About 45 minutes for this (or about three Magoos) which is quicker than average for me. Whether it is easier or not I don't know, but there were a number of unusual words I actually knew,...
View ArticleTimes Christmas Day Quick Cryptic by Noel
Solving time: MediumIf you are in need of a crossword fix on Christmas Day, you'll be pleased to know there are three on-line only puzzles just for today. A 15x15, a Jumbo and this festive offering...
View ArticleQuick Cryptic No 209 by Tracy
I've blogged this a few days ahead as the holiday period allows little space or peace for concentrated solving, toddling grandchildren are the priority. I'll check the blog when I can, as the puzzle...
View ArticleTimes 25,979: Like A Twisty Turny Thing
Happy Wren's Day to one and all! I hope your stockings and/or stomachs were adequately stuffed during any celebrations that may have taken place yesterday.I have a small child continually tugging at my...
View ArticleJumbo 1123
Very straightforward - a standard Times Jumbo. Please forgive any typing errors - I am typing this after a family lunch with plentiful festive cheer.Across1 UNCLAD - UN LAD = Parisian boy, around...
View ArticleSaturday Times 25975 (20th Dec)
Solving time 26:00 exactly (although I might have added a couple of minutes to that myself). I got off to a fairly slow start, getting hardly any that crossed each other initially, so tried an...
View ArticleMephisto Word-Cross 2834 by Paul McKenna
I found this the hardest puzzle for some time, perhaps fitting as it appeared on the anniversary in 1913 of the publication of Arthur Wynn's "word-cross" in the New York World.I had three quries. At...
View ArticleST Christmas puzzle
In case anyone is wondering, the solution to last Sunday's Christmas puzzle will be published on 4 January, so a blog will appear then.
View ArticleQuick Cryptic 210 by Alconiere
I thought we had a new setter today, but on checking I found that Alconiere has appeared once before, having set puzzle #122 in August. The name appears to be derived from a 19th century Hungarian...
View ArticleTimes 25981 - Now if 6, turned out to be 9, I don't mind....
Solving time: 42 minutesMusic: Prokovieff, Symphony #6, Leinsdorf/BSoI had taken a week off from solving, so this was my first puzzle in a while. My trepidation was most thoroughly confirmed when,...
View ArticleQuick Cryptic No 211 by Mara
In support of my fellow bloggers, who were given offence by certain comments posted to last week's blog, I would like to point out the site rules. These can be found in the link 'About This Blog...' at...
View ArticleTimes 25,982
So, was this a satisfying and reasonably straightforward offering? Up to a point, Lord Copper. By which I mean, I found this (mostly) easy going until I got to my last one in, where I hesitated, and...
View ArticleQuick Cryptic 212 by Orpheus
Thanks to Orpheus for a most enjoyable puzzle. I think it's probably towards the easier end of the QC spectrum, but with a wide range of clue types in play, and very nicely done. Access seems OK today,...
View ArticleTimes 25983 - Grand Final, Puzzle No. 3
I don't have a solving time for this as I did it in several short sessions before the holidays. I thought it was a very fair, medium difficulty puzzle and not as tricky as the first Grand Final puzzle...
View ArticleTimes 25984 - another year, same occasional lack of solving ability
Solving time : 14:14 - but with one error and I don't see any typos so I may have been defeated here. I started off pretty well and got stuck in the top right corner near the end so maybe I've made...
View ArticleTimes Quick Cryptic 213 by Teazel
My second Quickie blog this week, this time standing in for Macavity. Teazel's puzzle took me 11 mins and was very enjoyable. It seemed fairly straightforward but we'll see what others make of it....
View ArticleQuick Cryptic Number 214 by Izetti
I really enjoyed this puzzle, which I found to be slightly more difficult than average. It just seems polished and neat, with many words used in unfamiliar and interesting ways. The material (that’s...
View ArticleTimes 25,985: Ora & Labora
Not a particularly hard puzzle from my point of view to kick off 2015, with a reasonable amount of change left over from 15 minutes, but one that I did thoroughly enjoy. I like to think of myself as a...
View Article