Johninterred – Page 18 – Times for The Times

Times Crossword Championship 2023

Johninterred4th August 2023 at 3:45 PM10 September 2025Announcement, Meetups and Events

As announced by Mick Hodgkin on the Crossword Club site today…

“After a four-year gap, I am delighted to announce that the Times Crossword Championship is back. The 2023 Championship will be held on Saturday October 21st at Times HQ, the News Building, right by London Bridge station. We are returning to an in-person event, largely following the format of the 2019 contest – two qualifying sessions, a semifinal session for the highest finishers in each qualifier, and a grand final in which the top three semifinalists tackle one puzzle.”
Read the full post for more details.

Monthly Club Special No 20274 – July 2023

Johninterred1st August 2023 at 12:05 AM10 September 2025Monthly Club Special

It’s that time of the month again – the usual entertaining dive into remote corners of the dictionary and inventive wordplay that is the magic of the Monthly Club Special.

Times Quick Cryptic 2449 by Mara

Johninterred28th July 2023 at 1:46 AM10 September 2025Quick Cryptic

Quite a gentle one for a Friday from Mara today, if my time is anything to go by…. but I know from experience that ain’t necessarily so for everyone.

Fortnightly Weekend Quick Cryptic. This time it is my turn to provide the extra weekend entertainment. You can find the crossword, entitled “On Your Head Be It”, here.

Times Quick Cryptic No 2439 by Felix

Johninterred14th July 2023 at 1:46 AM10 September 2025Quick Cryptic

Today we have a Quick Cryptic from Felix to entertain us. Thank-you Felix! How did you all get on?

Fortnightly Weekend Quick Cryptic. This time it is Sawbill’s turn to provide the extra weekend entertainment. You can find the crossword here

Times Cryptic Jumbo No 1622 – 24th June

Johninterred8th July 2023 at 12:04 AM10 September 2025Jumbo Cryptic

This entertaining Jumbo is the work of our Crossword Editor, Richard Rogan. If he hadn’t told me it was his I think I might have guessed from the characteristic style. A little trickier than your usual Jumbo, it took me, I think, about an hour. With an abundance of wry definitions and clever wordplay, I had plenty of approving ticks on my paper copy.

Monthly Club Special No 20273 – Jun 2023

Johninterred1st July 2023 at 12:05 AM10 September 2025Monthly Club Special

It’s the best crossword of the month again – the Monthly Club Special. Very tricky – it took me nearly 2 hours, but I had lots of fun along the way

Times Quick Cryptic No 2429 by Mara

Johninterred30th June 2023 at 1:27 AM10 September 2025Quick Cryptic

After Juno’s very tricky QC yesterday, we have another tricky one from Mara today. Some nebulous definitions and deceptive wordplay made it slow going for me But there were some good clues along the way. I particularly liked 18A, 6D and 10D. Thank-you Mara. How did you all get on?

Fortnightly Weekend Quick Cryptic. This time it is Phil’s turn to provide the extra weekend entertainment. You can find the crossword here.

Times Quick Cryptic No 2419 by Felix

Johninterred16th June 2023 at 1:43 AM10 September 2025Quick Cryptic

Today we have a QC from Felix. A little on the tricky side of average but not overly so, I think, going by my time of 5:57. Thank-you Felix. How did you all get on?

It being Felix as our setter, we have come to expect a theme/Nina in the grid. Can you find it?

Fortnightly Weekend Quick Cryptic. This time it is my turn to provide the extra weekend entertainment. You can find the crossword, entitled “Playtime” (and details of our London get together a week tomorrow) here.

Times Cryptic Jumbo No 1617 – 27th May 2023

Johninterred10th June 2023 at 12:27 AM10 September 2025Jumbo Cryptic

My turn to blog the Jumbo again already? With three bank holidays this month they’ve come thick and fast! I found this one relatively 1A but fun, finishing in an sub-average time of just over 35 minutes. Thank-you setter. How did you all get on?

Table Editing in Blogs

Johninterred5th June 2023 at 9:40 PM10 September 2025Announcement

A message for all bloggers. I don’t know if you have found this irritating too, but I find that when editing accidentally moving the mouse while it is on a border in the blog tables of clues and answers changes the line spacing/rowsize/column widths with unpredictable results (it adds inline styling). This can lead to inconsistent spacing between lines, for example.

I have found that this behaviour can be switched off via a configuration option. I have tested it on our test site and it seems to work. If nobody objects in the next day or two I will change the setting in the live site too. [Update: Change now made. Let me know if it causes you any problems].