Category: Weekend Cryptic

Solving time 26:30 I found this a hard slog, despite getting the two 15-letter downs straight away, which made me think it was going to be a doddle! Maybe I just wasn’t with it last … Read more “Times Saturday 23934 – a bit tougher than the last few!”

Solving time 8:46 – very easy for a Saturday, although the tricky wordplay for 1A took much longer for me to understand than the whole puzzle did to solve! Across 1 LA(CON)IC – took me … Read more “Times Saturday 23928 (31 May)”

Apparently this Sunday’s edition (8th June) will include a shortened version of Don Manley’s “Chambers Crossword Manual”. For UK solvers who don’t yet have a “how to solve cryptics” book and think it might help, … Read more “Free book in Sunday Independent (UK)”

I was away on a walking weekend in the Malverns last week, but had a gout attack and had to sit out the 9½-mile walk the rest of them suffered through, which meant I was … Read more “Times Saturday 23922”

Solving time: 4:21 Very little to say about this puzzle: the clues were generally accurate, if uninspired, while the statutory mistake came in 19ac. I’m not sure a “pie chart” would be appropriate for the … Read more “ST 4277 (Sun 18 May) – Coati Sunday”

Solving time: 21:52I have always considered Saturday crosswords as being a bit trickier than average but always very fair. The last few weeks offerings have, I think, crossed the fairness line and require what I … Read more “Saturday 23910 – One definite chestnut and maybe one or two others”

This one wasn’t easy but didn’t seem too bad by comparison with 23898, the previous Saturday’s beast. Luckily I knew the two long book titles and the saying at 7dn came readily to mind, but … Read more “Saturday Times – 23904”

Solving time: 16:30 The Times Crossword is a commuting habit for me, and so I don’t often do Saturday’s. I may change that, because this was an enjoyable puzzle that seemed just a bit scarier … Read more “23,898 – Saturday, 26 April”

Solving time: unknown Solved afresh for this report. There’s lots of good stuff in this puzzle. Across 1 S(A LAD)CREAM 7 SIDE – 2 defs 9 P(R.U. D)ENCE 10 DR. ON GO – a bird … Read more “23892 – Saturday 19th April”

Parents visiting from Cyprus this weekend, so I don’t know whether I’ll find time to do the blog today. Can’t even find last week’s solution grid at the moment, may have to re-solve it! It … Read more “Times Saturday 23874 (Mar 29) – placeholder”