Category: Jumbo Cryptic

Solving time 14:36 A pretty easy puzzle, but the clues read well and there are a couple of good &lit clues. The 15×15 cryptic on the same day was really tough, so this one’s low … Read more “Jumbo 710”

Solving time – 23:36 I’m not 100% sure, but I think this is my fastest time for the Jumbo since I started timing myself. Usually there are a few tricky clues or obscure words but … Read more “Times Jumbo 709 (Sat July 21)”

Solving time: 32 mins, one mistake (42ac) Definitely not at my sharpest when solving this, having suffered a spectacular bout of food poisoning the night before. The top left corner in particular took me ages, … Read more “Times Jumbo 707 (Sat 7 July) – Moth balls”

Solving time: about 25 mins Solved this at the airport or on the plane a fortnight ago and then forgot to keep it, so the time is a guesstimate. Some nicely done long anagrams and … Read more “Jumbo 706”

Brought this to solve on a long train journey. Made fairly good progress before getting stuck on 4 across and words crossing it. In normal circs would probably have gone to dicts then, but persisted … Read more “Times Jumbo 705”

Solving time: 36:35 This time was around my median for a Jumbo.  I hope I am not being too harsh if I say that I would not champion this puzzle as a shining example of … Read more “Jumbo 704 – Theod in bellicose mood!”

Solving time 33:50 As this took getting on for double my “Jumbo par” time and someone in comments has already mentioned its difficulty, it seems worth explaining more clues than usual. A good challenging puzzle … Read more “Jumbo 703 – tough puzzle, long report”

Solving time: 17:37 [This posting is a few days late, for which my apologies.] Most of this was straightforward; it would have been a PB (just under 14 minutes) except for 22dn and 46dn. Some … Read more “Jumbo 702 (Sat 2 Jun) – Love it or hate it”

Solving time: 21:00, three mistakes (30ac, 34ac and 20dn). This would have been under 15 mins but for 34ac, 41ac and 3dn. I got the last two of these right but guessed the first incorrectly, … Read more “Times Jumbo 698 (Sat 12 May) – Blunder gatherer”

Solving time 25:43 Quite a few clues to explain here. Grid is pangrammatic, but for a jumbo that should almost be compulsory… Across 1 UPKEEP = (peek,pu(t))<= 5 CU(e)S HI(d) ON(e) – deleted letters being … Read more “Jumbo 696 – medium difficulty”