My new job
Those of you who look at the Times for the Times blog will know that I’ve just started a new job. I can now tell you that I’ve been appointed on a trial … Read more >>
petebiddlecombe
Independent 7537 (Saturday 11 December) – Nimrod
Solving time: just over 30 minutes – I struggled wth this, as I do with many of Nimrod’s grid stunts – this time, just 10 down answers. I guess the slight under-checking in … Read more >>
Independent 7513 by Math (Saturday 13 Nov)
Solving time: 17:13 It was fairly obvious from the grid that a theme was likely here – the puzzle is about Civil Rights in its US meaning, with CIVIL RIGHTS and four associated … Read more >>
Sloggers and Betters 7
I’m announcing this rather later than usual, for which I apologise. For two reasons, S & B 7 will take place on Wednesday 1st December. The first reason is that “Uncle Yap”, who … Read more >>
Inquisitor 1150 – Dry by Phi
Solving time: about 30 mins, except for Googling to confirm the theme. This was an easy Inquisitor puzzle, with vocabulary that wasn’t too obscure. There were four themewords clued by wordplay only, each … Read more >>
Azed 2,005
Azed 2005 – Plain This was a pretty straightforward puzzle, done in 40 minutes, with Chambers only used for the last two answers – 26, which I should have got on my own, … Read more >>
Independent 7486 – Dac
Delighted to make an occasional report on a weekday Indie, and to tackle a Dac puzzle well up to the usual standard. It’s not difficult but there’s lots to like. Obviously there’s the … Read more >>
Inquisitor 1145 – Ulula by Ikela
This was a fairly gentle Inquisitor (solved in under an hour) with a pleasant theme for solvers of my generation. Redundant letters provided by wordplay spelled out a “suggested title for a notional … Read more >>
Azed 2000
We all knew this puzzle would be some kind of special, but I doubt many guessed the exact kind correctly. It turned out that two letters had to be removed from the answers … Read more >>
Azed 2000 lunch – spare ticket
Turning a comment from Don Manley on a certain other blog into a posting, there’s an auction in progress for a spare ticket for the Azed lunch in Oxford this Saturday – see … Read more >>
Independent 7453 by Bannsider (Sat 4 September)
I found this very difficult, I think – I didn’t manage to record my solving time. The grid has 6 15-letter answers, and most of these were used for phrases that you don’t … Read more >>
Independent 7441 by Scorpion (Saturday 21 August)
Solving time: About 38 minutes says my copy, but I think this includes an arbitrary penalty for running out of patience and looking up the posssibilities for 5D, which was a bit poor … Read more >>
Inquisitor 1137 – Cryptogram by Kruger
I have to confess to being stumped by the final step of this puzzle. The instructions tell us that: “The ‘cryptogram’ formed by two normally clued entries should be highlighted and the relevant … Read more >>
Azed 1991 – Ars Magna
Azed 1991 – Ars Magna Clues led to two words which were anagrams of each other – the definition provided one, and the wordplay the other. In the lists below, the definition word … Read more >>
Independent 7417 (Sat 24 July) – Scorpion
I didn’t time this accurately but thought it was about average difficulty for a Scorpion puzzle – which means pretty tricky. It might have been easier if I’d solved 4A early on, as … Read more >>