A fun Jumbo with some cool things going on in the across clues (9ac, 13ac, 53ac, e.g.), though the last half or more of the down clues seem universally very straightforward – I wonder if … Read more “Times Cryptic Jumbo 1474: EEZ’re Good”
Author: Verlaine
Times Cryptic Jumbo 1479: Times-Xwd-Times Vaut Bien Une Mess
A very chucklesome Jumbo indeed with some laugh out loud moments in its quirky idea-pictures. Having just concluded the parsings I remain very tickled by 51dn’s un-I, a hardcore version of the not-we, but I … Read more “Times Cryptic Jumbo 1479: Times-Xwd-Times Vaut Bien Une Mess”
Monthly Club Special 20,243: Strange Currencies
Very hard indeed, but very good indeed, and quite an education in obscure currencies from all around the globe. COD to the ingenious Italianate stylings of 4ac, but I also very much liked À LA … Read more “Monthly Club Special 20,243: Strange Currencies”
Times 27,863: Seafood Diet
Happy New Year! 2021 gets off to a gentle start with this five-minuter (from where I was sitting) – probably best not to risk anything too challenging when people are nursing their hangovers from Hogmanay. … Read more “Times 27,863: Seafood Diet”
Times 27,857: Three Hos Before The Mast
A medium difficulty puzzle that should hopefully not interfere with the digestion of anyone’s Christmas dinner. I very much liked the use of “eg” in 5dn and the neighbouring &lit was cute too. A very … Read more “Times 27,857: Three Hos Before The Mast”
Times 27,851: The Hills Are Alive With The Sound Of Clue-sic
Straightforward by Friday standards, with a lot of clues that I think of as Cryptic Jumbo-type constructions, nothing too fancy or frivolous. FOI 4ac, LOI 23ac. I mostly liked the “always ignores over” device in … Read more “Times 27,851: The Hills Are Alive With The Sound Of Clue-sic”
Times 27,845: AA Antipolitics
Right up my street, this puzzle, with a very high classics (9ac, 25ac, 20dn) and quizzy GK content, plus plenty of expostulations (6ac, 8dn, 12dn) that I yell out all the time in the process … Read more “Times 27,845: AA Antipolitics”
Times Cryptic Jumbo 1469: Preferably Beneath A Pile Of Crunching Bodies
This crossword is all about 28dn as far as I’m concerned, much though I like Nicolas Poussin and Tom Stoppard. What a marvellous phrase! I liked 13ac which is another sports clue – maybe I … Read more “Times Cryptic Jumbo 1469: Preferably Beneath A Pile Of Crunching Bodies”
Times 27,839: Enough Of Your Sass
Mostly straightforward for a Friday though there were a couple of unusual vocabulary words and some interesting cryptic devices to push my time firmly over the 5 minute solve mark. FOI 1ac, LOI 23ac with … Read more “Times 27,839: Enough Of Your Sass”
Monthly Club Special 20,242: Christmas Comes Early
I thought this was hard but most entertaining – 15ac being worth the price of admission all on its won. I also very much liked 22ac, an audacious word to try to clue at all, … Read more “Monthly Club Special 20,242: Christmas Comes Early”