A medium-to-easy one from Beck, I thought.
Month: August 2025
Quick Cryptic 3077 by Hurley
No bones about it – I found this on the harder side though maybe it was just me.
Times Cryptic 29318
Much of this was straightforward but I needed aids for one answer so it counts as a DNF.
Times 29317 – Just not baseball
Lots to like here: a bit of geography, a bit of botany
Times Quick Cryptic 3076 by Mara
I felt I was rather slow on this one so I was surprised to see the time on the clock as I completed the grid.
Mephisto 3390 – Quite raggedy, I would say!
I realized today that due to the press of business in one of my unpaid jobs, I had not finished this puzzle, so I had to sit down at 7 to polish it off and do the blog. It was not very difficult, but some of the wordplay relies on quite obscure meanings of words you probably know in another context.
Sunday Times Cryptic No 5177 by David McLean — Let there be light!
This was delightful! I was perplexed at the threshold of many clues, but never in the dark for too long.
Quick Cryptic no 3075 by Asp
A puzzle of considerable class from our crossword editor Asp
Times Cryptic 29310 – Sat, 16 August 2025. G-Nashing of limericks.
It is sometimes suggested that the clues at the end are easier than the early ones, for some reason. Certainly, with this puzzle, my eye fell on the last across clue, and from there I flew through the SE corner. Overall a quick solve, apart from the limerick writer.
Times Cryptic Jumbo 1745 – 9 August 2025. Unfinished business
Hi all. This was all going wonderfully smoothly … until I slowed to a crawl. I then hit a brick wall which seemed so unyielding I resorted to word searches with a handful to go. Thanks to the setter for the brain exercise. Although I confess I got a teeny bit grumpy at the end, I enjoyed it until then!