Category: Weekend Cryptic

Another cracker from Dean, awash with wit, some terrific clues, amusing surfaces and a splash of sauce. Particular standouts for me were the excellent clue at 17dn, the tricky 1ac, the ingenious definition at 26ac … Read more “Sunday Times 4641 by Dean Mayer – Adult Themes, Occasional Nudity”

Solving time 10:53, but would have been about 3 minutes quicker but for the pesky 15D and 25A! So, a very easy solve for a Saturday, and I noticed some pretty fast times on the … Read more “Saturday Times 26094 (9th May)”

15:29. I started quickly on this but then it put up some resistance towards the end. There were one or two things I didn’t know but the wordplay was fair and clear in all cases. … Read more “Sunday Times 4640 by Jeff Pearce”

Solving time 14:50, on the train on Thursday night! It was a busy Bank Holiday weekend for me, so I had quite a backlog to get through in this week’s commute. Finally finished the May … Read more “Saturday Times 26088 (2nd May)”

A game of two halves for me. First pass through the clues resulted in about half the grid being completed (a highly unusual state of affairs), then the scoring rate slowed right down as I … Read more “Sunday Times 4639 by Tim Moorey – the amorous setter…”

Solving time: 26:47, mainly held up by my last three in (5ac, 10ac and 8dn). I actually got off to a fairly fast start to this one, but I kept stopping to admire the brilliant … Read more “Saturday Times 26082 (25th April) – absolute belter!”

42:59. Judging by times on the club site I seem to have struggled more than others with this, and I certainly found it a real stinker. It’s a sign of how off the wavelength I … Read more “Sunday Times 4638 by Dean Mayer”

Fairly quick but enjoyable solve in 13:25. Got off to a bad start by putting MEOW in for “catcall” at 1D without reading the rest of the clue, but that was soon put right and … Read more “Saturday Times 26076 (18th April)”

A most enjoyable puzzle featuring a “horn but not”, a North American herring, a French philosophical concept, a comedian and a celebrated charioteer – now that’s what I call eclectic! Elegant clues, some very nice … Read more “Sunday Times 4637 by Jeff Pearce”

Well, my “holiday” is over. Sue’s back at work now (although still a bit sore) and Olivia’s out in the wilds opening up “The Rhinebeck Place”. In my mind’s eye I’m imagining something like the … Read more “Saturday Times 26070 (11th April)”