Category: Daily Cryptic

Solving time: 12:54 Hardest of the month so far I think, but also one of the best. Had to wait until about 14A for my first answer, and then needed a minute or two on … Read more “23,835 – challenging but still lovely”

Solving time : 40 minutes Some obscure stuff today and one or two clues such as 24 down that would not be out of place in Mephisto. We have two old alphabets and an old … Read more “Times 23834 Ancient Arcane Alphabets”

Solving time: 36 mins Not too bad today – I had to look up a couple of unfamiliar words. A few made me smile – and that’s what it’s all about, isn’t it? Across 1 … Read more “23,833 – some flowery words”

Solving time: 8:45 Unless I am very much mistaken there are two faulty clues in this puzzle, 23ac (OSIERS) and 20dn (ESSAYED). That a Sunday broadsheet crossword with a wide circulation and significant prize should … Read more “ST 4262 (Sun 3 Feb) – Essay crisis”

Solving time – 16:34  I enjoyed this very much but it was one of those puzzles that I looked at when I’d finished and wondered why it took so long to solve. On reflection, I … Read more “23831”

Solving time : 10 minutes. Blistering start, and a few proper names snagged me towards the end that had to be worked out using wordplay. Found this one fairly straightforward, clues needed a little thinking … Read more “Times 23830 – the winner was abstergent”

Solving time: 7:01 One musical mafia clue at 10. The main trouble for me was 4D. COD 5A for me. Across 1 DE TROP = ported rev. 5 SO (ME)WHAT 10 KNIGHT – ref. Sir … Read more “23,829 – another fairly easy one”

I’ll be honest, haven’t voted yet. But the polls are open until 9pm. Of course, by the time I actually vote it will no longer be relevant… In any event, nothing dropped until 20A and … Read more “Times 23828 – aha!”

Solving time: 32 mins A very enjoyable puzzle today – lots of interesting clues with a mixture of wordplay, but nothing too difficult. I just looked up a couple of words to confirm. Across 1 … Read more “23827 – Grace Cathedral Hill”

Solving time: 12:50, about half of which spent baffled by 14ac and 2dn (which I think contains an error). Much better than usual, some good clues in this; 2dn is a bit baffling though. If … Read more “ST 4261 (Sun 27 Jan) – Scrawls of residents”