Category: Daily Cryptic

Solving time: Lost, but about 5 mins I think. A pretty straightforward puzzle this week including a couple of famous names, one of which seems to be spelt incorrectly. I’m sorry this is a day … Read more “ST 4307 (Sun 14 Dec) – The Dreyfus(s) Affair”

Solving time: 1 hour + 1 minute A very slow start this morning, but I eventually got the hang of it. Looking back, there is nothing too tricky but there are some well constructed, misleading … Read more “Times 24103”

I completed nearly all of this in 35 minutes but was left with 7d unsolved for some time afterwards. Eventually I discovered an error at 13 which resolved the  problem. Another good puzzle but I expect … Read more “24101 – Dosh, not hush money”

Solving time : 24 minutes, a very slow start, with a read through of the acrosses the only ones I saw the first time were 21, 22 and 23, and it was a slow climb … Read more “Times 24100 – is the north-east corner trying to tell us something?”

An enjoyable puzzle which I thought was of about average difficulty. Solving time, 28 mins. * = anagram < = reversedACROSS1 REALM half of REAL Madrid – so nothing to do with IN E8 DISCOMBOBULATE … Read more “Times Crossword 24,099”

Solving time : 12 minutes There’s not much to say about this puzzle, which is very easy indeed. When I got to 19A having solved every across clue as I went I decided to press … Read more “Times 24,098 A Straight Run Through”

I did this in 26 minutes, so would expect to see some really fast times from others. A few new words for me (Ennis, Etty, Ostrogoth) – all proper nouns but all quite gettable from … Read more “Times 24097”

Solving time: 8:13 (one mistake: 13ac) I got a bit bogged down on the left half of this, struggling on SHEEPISH/SINK at the top and TOURACOS, TISANE and CHITON at the bottom, and also misspelt … Read more “ST 4306 (Sun 7 Dec) – Harridan floored”

Solving time: 18.30. I found this a tricky but enjoyable puzzle with some nicely disguised definitions, and also some where the definition was a giveaway but the wordplay needed quite a lot of thought. I … Read more “Times Crossword 24095”

Solving time: 13:42 This was very enjoyable and seemed rather tricky. The last three to go in for me were 1A and 1D, and of course the cricket reference at 28A. I was pleased to … Read more “Times 24,094”