Category: Jumbo Cryptic

Not much to blog about. A straightforward solve, which I did not time accurately, but definitely took under 30 minutes. I was thrown for a bit as the website had the correct grid with, I think, the previous week’s … Read more “Jumbo 868”

The usual Jumbo rubric: as the solution is available alongside (or indeed before) the blog, comment is confined only to references that might remain obscure to overseas / inexperienced solvers even with the answer visible, … Read more “Times Jumbo 867”

Just for the record, the club site has a new variety of cock-up today – Times2 Jumbo clues for the cryptic Jumbo, and those clues are obviously for a different grid. I thnk this combines … Read more “Jumbo 868”

Enjoyable puzzle, which I found was on the easy side, solving time, 51 mins. Favourite clues STRAW, DREDGE, HUNDREDS AND THOUSANDS, GROVELS, ETCHING * = anagram ACROSS1 MELISSA ELI in (MASS)* Good surface with RC … Read more “Times Jumbo 866 (Sat 10 April 2010)”

Jumping Jehosaphat ! Jumbo’s Jam-packed with Js!It was also jam-packed with beautifully crafted clues. At 1:20 it took around twice as long as my average Jumbo but there were more A-ha moments than a 1980s … Read more “Jumbo 864 – 27 March 2010”

This was comparatively easy, with no outstanding clues, and one that I really felt was pretty poor (36A). It took me less than 25 minutes, but 8A did bring a smile to my face as … Read more “Jumbo 863”

I’ve just heard on the bush telegraph that the Bank Holiday Jumbo is no more. It seems you will not find one in tomorrow’s paper, nor any future Bank Holiday edition of The Times. Solvers … Read more “Farewell, Bank Holiday Jumbos”

The usual Jumbo rubric: as the solution is available alongside (or indeed before) the blog, comment is confined only to references that might remain obscure to overseas / inexperienced solvers even with the answer visible, … Read more “Jumbo 862”

Solving time: Two sessions totalling about 1 hour 50 minutes, albeit with numerous interruptions. Nothing particularly stood out in this puzzle, and I found it a steady solve. I probably could have done it faster, … Read more “Jumbo 861 – 6th Mar 2010 – Nothing to write home about”

Solving time: 23:03 – just edging into difficulty, as the top and left were relatively tricky. It also took me a while to dig out the two Shakespeare quotes – my school Shakespeare included neither … Read more “Jumbo 860”