Category: Daily Cryptic

Solving time: 10:15 This was a pleasant surprise, being very good in parts. There was an enumeration error at 12dn (IN-TRAY), one or two clues were a mess and I had quibbles with a few … Read more “ST 4374 (Sun 28 Mar) – Ghouls ‘n’ Gobelins”

Solving time: 32 minutes or thereabouts, interrupted by a very brief phone call. Attentive readers will no doubt be waiting with interest to see what excuse I would produce this week for failing to blog, … Read more “Times Crossword 24501”

The remarkable thing about today’s puzzle is the sheer elegance of the clueing with marvellous surface reading. Many clues have been cleverly crafted to arrive at a sensible surface reading that epitomise the best in … Read more “Times 24500 – Smooth as Silk”

Solving time: 10:49 This should have been under 10, but I was held up at the end by 3D, struggling to find the necessary non-plural word to match both “characteristic” and “buildings”. Last in before … Read more “24499”

16 mins, so very middle of the road in terms of difficulty. That doesn’t mean I was familiar with all the vocabulary or knowledge required, but the wordplay on each occasion left me in little … Read more “Times 24,498 –”

Solving time: 35 minutes. A steady solve with a minimum of specialist knowledge required. Particularly in 20 & 24a. I admit I had to look up the reference in 20, but the Manhattan Project was … Read more “24497 – A straightforward start to the week.”

Solving time: 6 mins The schedule suggested we were due a good one and sure enough this was excellent. I don’t understand 18dn (WAYSIDE), though. * = anagram, “X” = sounds like ‘X’. Across 4 … Read more “ST 4373 (Sun 21 Mar) – Trouble garage”

I solved this last night in 35 minutes after an extremely long and tiring day (and a few bevvies) so I’d like to think I would have raced through it if my brain had been … Read more “Times 24495 – Change and decay and smelly fish”

Solving time : good question. After 13 minutes, working on the online version, I was down to the last two answers, 2 down and 8 across. I took a brain refresher break, and that didn’t … Read more “Times 24494:”

Solving time: 11:38 A puzzle on the hard side for me – with a couple of new words or meanings – CHUM = salmon, and LICKERISH = lecherous. I don’t think any answers went in … Read more “24493”