Category: Daily Cryptic

Solving time : 39’54” Typical – my first post and one of my slowest solves for quite some time. Having BLEARY as a poor homonym at 19D didn’t help either. Across 1 PEP,PERMI(N)T 11 CIRCUS … Read more “23589 – SLEEPY and SLIPSHOD”

Solving time : 2 hours + a bit (in a few sessions) I really struggled to get into this and spent a long time staring at the paper, questioning my ability and my sanity. I … Read more “23588 – got in a MESS and took AGES”

This was the most difficult of the Friday puzzles I have blogged since I joined the Times team. I started off well enough, but the right-hand side of the grid just wouldn’t come for me. … Read more “Times 23,586 – too many mistakes!”

Solving time: 14:25 Thanks to Magoo for filling in the last three Thursdays while I was away. Now we are back to double-digit solving times. Lord of the Flies at 14A was the first one … Read more “23585 – Any old iron duke”

Solving time 13:10 Slow progress at first, with most of my answers at the bottom. Then gradually got going. Quite a few two-word phrases to be given the “lift and separate” treatment. Lots of interesting … Read more “23,584 – tough for me”

Solving time: 25’ Any time under half an hour is rather quick for me, though there are a couple of wordplays that I’ll leave for my betters to gloss. Words almost all longish (except for … Read more “Times 23583/Pussy Galore!”

Solving time : just under 40 minutes. I had a really slow start, only getting a few clues on first read-through. Then I seemed to fall into crossword mode and whizzed through the rest. I … Read more “23,582 – Puzzle protocol? Snap out of it”

Solving time : 5m01s – Seemed an easy puzzle, though with some surprising words. The finish of 20 and 24 are such to suggest that 28 FOREVER is placed deliberately for some secret Nina purpose … Read more “23,579 – Roedean forever?”

… only scoring a RUN on the very last clue (24D). Some good stuff in here, including some “essence of Times xwd”. Solving time 6:42 Across 1 THROUGH=via,comPUTing 10 BAN,JAX=”jacks” – with JERKIN as the … Read more “23,578 – shades of the cricket…”

Solving time: 58′ Meticulously fair wordplay but some pretty obscure references that had me scurrying for reference books (e.g. LABAN) and I’m not sure about the Clare reference in 13D nor the wordplay for 22A. … Read more “Times 23577/Laban”