Category: Jumbo Cryptic

A nice middle-of-the-road Jumbo, I thought, with plenty of straightforward clues to give you a foothold but a few chewier ones to make you think harder. FOI 15A and LOI 7A, where I was trying … Read more “Times Cryptic Jumbo 1492 – 10th April”

Hello all.  Penfold has already posted the blog for Easter Monday’s 1491, so I must fill in the gap left by the previous Saturday’s Jumbo.  Apologies for jumbling the jumbo sequence. This one kept me … Read more “Times Cryptic Jumbo 1490 – 3rd April 2021. At sea in a sieve”

Well, this was a right bank holiday challenge.  I have to confess to requiring aids to finish, as some of the (cultural, foreign) “general” knowledge was beyond my Ken.  Kudos if you finished all correct … Read more “Times Cryptic Jumbo 1491 – a bank holiday culture lesson”

This was cryptically largely straightforward, but I really enjoyed it, due to some clever definition parts and a sense of fun throughout. I loved “Man’s man” at 32ac, the lovely surface of 50ac, the association … Read more “Times Cryptic Jumbo 1489: Show Me Round Your Fruitcage”

Hello again. This Jumbo I thought was a really good one, with a number of imaginative clues and a lot of very nice surface readings, which I always like. I found it mostly straightforward, though … Read more “Times Cryptic Jumbo No. 1488 – 20 March 2021”

I thought this quite an entertaining Jumbo. It had a fair smattering of easier clues to help you populate the grid but also a few trickier ones with deceptive definitions or ingenious wordplay. As usual, … Read more “Times Cryptic Jumbo 1487 – 13th March”

I thought this was a brilliant puzzle, jam-packed with clever definitions and original, witty, crafty wordplay.  Those two elements meant it took me somewhere over an hour to get to grips with everything.  I hope … Read more “Times Cryptic Jumbo 1486 – Jumbo bucket”

Hi all.  Another five weeks has disappeared to wherever time goes. The top slightly-less-than half of this gave me little trouble, but then I flagged, with the SE corner in particular giving me no little … Read more “Times Cryptic Jumbo 1485 – 27th February 2021”

Off to the races on this uncomplicated jumbo, where many of the clues felt like old friends. FOI 1ac and 5ac, LOI 34ac as I convinced myself this nothing else would fit the bill: sadly … Read more “Times Cryptic Jumbo 1484: In A City Of The Future It Is Difficult To Concentrate”

So hello, here I am again, standing in for Simon Hanson for a while. Since my first blog in November 2009, I have blogged, at one time or another, almost all of the crosswords that … Read more “Times Cryptic Jumbo 1483 – 13 February 2021”