Category: Jumbo Cryptic

Nothing exceptional in this one – a steady solve. If I had to choose a favourite clue I think it would either be 57A or 3D. Across 1 RECORD-BREAKER – double definition, the second slightly … Read more “Jumbo 1353”

So here it is my turn again to blog the Jumbo. Hooray! On the plus side, I get 2 weeks to complete the blog. On the minus side, I do the blog not knowing if … Read more “Times Cryptic Jumbo No 1352 – 17th November”

This was tricky wasn’t it?  I needed an hour to complete it and needed a bit of assistance to tease out some Mephisto-ish words. First in was GOUACHE and I forgot to note the last … Read more “Times cryptic Jumbo 1351”

I found this one rather more difficult than average, though some of that was no doubt down to doing it in the paper with a pencil whose hardness meant I could barely read what I … Read more “Jumbo 1350”

Easiest Jumbo *I’ve* done in a while, certainly, proving all done and dusted in 12 minutes. Most of the definition parts led to exactly what you I expected them to, and were quickly substantiated by … Read more “Times Jumbo 1349: At A Fair Clip”

I have more to comment on than usual in this one as there are a number of unfamiliar word and one clue (35A) that, despite being short, has a lot of complexity. I must make … Read more “Jumbo 1348”

This was quite a straightforward Jumbo with only the stew at 55A and the nasty form of torture at 5D being a new words to me. But both were easily derived from checkers and wordplay. … Read more “Times Cryptic Jumbo No 1347 – 13th October”

Holá tout le monde. How was it for you?  I finished this comfortably inside the hour but I did have to use aids to get the pilgrim’s destination and had to check the unlikely looking … Read more “Times Cryptic Jumbo 1346”

A puzzle that seemed easier than average with just the one troublesome clue (21A), which fortunately fell on the right side of a coin toss an educated guess. The standouts, at least for this solver, … Read more “Jumbo 1345”

I thought this was just a great jumbo, full of good words, smooth surfaces, concisely brilliant cryptic definitions and a general uneasy feeling that the setter might be a couple of steps ahead of me … Read more “Times Cryptic Jumbo 1344: No Time To Stay Outdoors And Spoon”