This was a leisurely New Year’s Day solve, done in a single session with no hangover whilst simultaneously watching football and joining in family conversations. Not too easy (possibly because many of the definitions were … Read more “Times Cryptic Jumbo 1476 – Let’s. Play. Crosswords.”
Author: Penfold
Times Cryptic Jumbo 1471 – The one where I can’t think of a clever title
I’m guessing this was of roughly average difficulty. I was watching football on the telly at the same time as solving so my time of just over an hour isn’t really a reliable guide. Writing … Read more “Times Cryptic Jumbo 1471 – The one where I can’t think of a clever title”
Times Cryptic Jumbo 1466 – Noddy goes to Princeton
This started out looking like it was going to be the easiest Jumbo I’d blogged, as I got about half way across the grid top left towards bottom right in a clean sweep. But there … Read more “Times Cryptic Jumbo 1466 – Noddy goes to Princeton”
Times Cryptic Jumbo 1461 – To Saint Joseph of Arimathea, the patron saint of tinsmiths
This puzzle kept me occupied for about 55 minutes, longer than normal so something must have been tricky. First in was LAMB and last was DIE HARD. My square bracket keys took a right hammering … Read more “Times Cryptic Jumbo 1461 – To Saint Joseph of Arimathea, the patron saint of tinsmiths”
Times Cryptic Jumbo 1456 – Charles Dickens, Joseph Heller and Bill Bryson walk into a bar
45 minutes. Maybe slightly over my par time but not too tricky. I had to check a few facts when writing up the explanations. First in was GAGSTER and last was MASS MEDIA. If any … Read more “Times Cryptic Jumbo 1456 – Charles Dickens, Joseph Heller and Bill Bryson walk into a bar”
Times Cryptic Jumbo 1451 – I’ll have an onion bhaji and some Bombay potatoes please
A perfectly good Jumbo of standard difficulty, for me at least. I got a little bit stuck on a few at the bottom but still finished in about 40 minutes. There were some nice touches … Read more “Times Cryptic Jumbo 1451 – I’ll have an onion bhaji and some Bombay potatoes please”
Times Cryptic Jumbo 1446 – kicking against the what?
This was mostly fairly gentle I thought, with the odd funny word to keep us on our toes, and only took about 35 minutes. First in was MOIST and last was DIGESTERS. Can you remember … Read more “Times Cryptic Jumbo 1446 – kicking against the what?”
Times Cryptic Jumbo 1441 – not a palindrome of Ipswich
This was fairly standard Jumbo fare I thought, and there’s nothing wrong with that. It took me about 50 minutes all told. First in was AIR RAID and last was the WOOD part of the … Read more “Times Cryptic Jumbo 1441 – not a palindrome of Ipswich”
Times Cryptic Jumbo 1436 – I shot a man in Reno
I thought this was a fairly gentle lockdown offering, taking about 40 minutes including parsing everything. First in was BRIDGE at 1d (I sometimes have a cheeky look at 1d if I don’t get 1a … Read more “Times Cryptic Jumbo 1436 – I shot a man in Reno”
Times Cryptic Jumbo 1431 – If that bird comes near me I’ll break its neck and your b****y arm.
This puzzle felt quite tricky in places but took about 50 minutes including working out all the parsings so was probably just on the harder side of average, with a goodly amount of GK required … Read more “Times Cryptic Jumbo 1431 – If that bird comes near me I’ll break its neck and your b****y arm.”