Category: Daily Cryptic

Solving time: 10:03 Sorry. Slightly later than planned today as the Times site wouldn’t let me log in. I had to go out and buy a paper. Nothing wrong with the Crossword, though. At least … Read more “Times 24,297”

Solving time: 9:19 This seemed a good representative of current Times puzzles – not that difficult, but with enough exotic vocabulary and original wordplay to keep experienced solvers thinking for a while, aided by a … Read more “Times 24296”

21 minutes today, a time which on the surface suggests a puzzle of merely average difficulty; however, it was actually a combination of some pretty straightforward clueing (including some very hoary old wordplay amongst the … Read more “Times 24,295 – Old and New”

Solving time: 1 hour I found this difficult to get any purchase on. First in was the unlikely Leicester and last Berliner. I all but completed the left half before making any head way on … Read more “Times 24294 – Ich bin ein Schüler”

Solving time: 4:16 I solved this online, though I’m never sure whether this makes it faster or slower; possibly faster to enter the answers but slower to solve the anagrams because you can’t just cross … Read more “ST 4339 (Sun 26 Jul) – Proper noun?”

Time taken to solve: 45 minutes. After yesterday’s predictions about being due a stinker today I approached this with a degree of apprehension and on failing to solve 1a which should have been easy, I … Read more “Times 24292 – Not a stinker!”

Solving time : 9 minutes, I expect there’ll be some greased-lightning times, there’s not a lot obscure here and the wordplay is crystal-clear. I did have one advantage that 15 across is a song that … Read more “Times 24291 – throwing a bone to the Antipodeans”

Solving time: 14:58 Quite a tricky puzzle this, with one word which I’m sure many will not have known before today. My last few answers in order were 17, 9, 1D, 1A, 18, and 13. … Read more “Times 24290 – nature class”

Solving time : 20 minutes There’s not much to say about this puzzle. It’s very straightforward with no particularly unusual words, obscurities or clever devices. Across 1 WESTWARD,HO! – two meanings 1=novel by Charles Kingsley … Read more “Times 24,289 A Sabbat for Bigfoot”

Solving time: 16 minutes Music: Schubert, Drei Klavierstucke, Wilhelm Kempff Far from difficult, perhaps due to some clues and answers that have appeared recently in other Times puzzles. The editors should encourage the setters to … Read more “Times 24288”