Category: Jumbo Cryptic

An appropriate theme for the April 1st Jumbo, with plenty of fools among the answers (SIMPLETON, AIRHEAD, BERK, CLOT, CHUMP, BUFFOON, DUNCE, CLOWN and DUMMY), and ALL FOOLS’ DAY appearing at 57ac. I didn’t encounter … Read more “Bank Holiday Monday Times Jumbo 1029”

Sorry for the slight delay on this one – the day job continues to expand out of its allotted time. Nothing to object about in the crossword. A couple of clues with tricky wordplay (28A, … Read more “Jumbo 1028”

27:14 on the Club timer, which would normally indicate a not-too-difficult puzzle; however, this one had its fair share of slightly obscure vocabulary – not Mephisto-level obscure, but above average for a Jumbo, certainly. However, … Read more “Jumbo 1027”

This seemed to be a good puzzle, mostly due to some cleverly hidden definitions and well constructed word plays. There were also very few soundalikes, which can be controversial, and no difficult vocabulary that wasnt … Read more “Jumbo 1026 – Testing..testing..1..2..3… Potemkin Chippewa and the Uveal Cryonics”

Solving time: About an hour and three quarters offline. I quite enjoyed this one, although sometimes I find these jumbos a bit of a slog. I still don’t understand 47a, so I would appreciate an … Read more “Times Jumbo 1025 (9 Mar 2013)”

Despite two answers I’d not met before (19ac, 36dn), I didn’t find this too difficult, with a solving time of 21 minutes split across two sessions. There were two George Eliot references (25ac, 55ac), but … Read more “Times Jumbo 1024”

A fair puzzle with a couple of unfamiliar words. 7D was my last one in as the checking letters did not suggest much – I left it blank initially until my subconscious came back to … Read more “Jumbo 1023”

I was struck by technological disaster last week, as my laptop died shortly after I posted Tuesday’s blog (and I am obviously thankful that it was shortly after, rather than shortly before). As we were … Read more “Jumbo 1022”

Did this a week late, having missed the weekend in question. It was fairly straightforward, probably because it seemed to have far fewer cryptic clues than usual, and mostly clear definitions, however what would have … Read more “Jumbo 1021 – 59 straightforward clues and an absolute stinker !”

Solving time: 1:27:01 I struggled with this one to start with, but once I got into my stride I sped up a bit. On the whole, an enjoyable puzzle with quite a few good clues. … Read more “Times Jumbo 1020 (2 Feb 2013)”