Category: Daily Cryptic

Solving time – 20 minutes A reasonable enough puzzle just on the easy side of average but with some entertaining stuff. I worked down top to bottom, left to right, first in TOMATO (which may … Read more “Times 24,409 A Touch of Violence”

Solving time: 35 minutes Music: Beethoven, Piano Sonatas, Kempff I admit, I was in a bit of a panic when I couldn’t get anything on my first runthrough. However, that turned out to be because … Read more “Times 24408 – Immediate good fortune for beginners?”

Solving time: Turned to a dictionary after 20 mins for 11ac and 8dn. Harder than usual this week with several obscurities. I didn’t know the flower PENSTEMON, the fossil (and old tribesman) AMMONITE, the EROSE … Read more “ST 4358 (Sun 6 Dec) – Fossil fool”

Solving time: 9.31 I sat looking at this in total horror for the first half minute or so, then saw 14A and 3D, and everything began to fall in to place quite smoothly after that, … Read more “Times Crossword 24406”

dd = double definitioncd = cryptic definitionrev = reversed or reversalins = insertioncha = charadeha = hidden answer*(fodder) = anagram I am glad to be given a regular fortnightly spot in these blogs. Of all … Read more “Times 24405 – Yummy with a piquant touch”

Solving time: 7:23 A fairly straightforward puzzle – minor delays for me from marking 20 in the grid as a (6,8) rather than (8,6) until the placing of ‘a sure’ fixed this, and with 1A … Read more “Times 24404”

Time of 12 minutes, with the only delay caused by unconsciously putting a rogue S instead of N at the end of 29 across, which held up the SE corner. I’d describe this as straightforward … Read more “Times 24,403”

Solving time: 55mins An ecclesiastical garment, a church cranny, a book of the bible, a plant and the odd city or two; what more could one wish for on a Monday morning? Being unable to … Read more “Times 24402 – When the going gets tough…”

Solving time: 7:22 I suspect the likes of Tony will demolish my time for this – I’ve had three weeks of very few crosswords and this felt commensurately pedestrian, including writing REDEEMED in the space … Read more “ST 4357 (Sun 29 Nov) – Illegal tender”

As expected I found this the most difficult one of the week. It took me 55 minutes which doesn’t seem too bad now, considering I read every clue and most of them more than once … Read more “Times 24400 – Double Trouble”