Category: Weekend Cryptic

21:33. I found this very tough for reasons I now can’t put my finger on. It all seems so straightforward now, which is often the mark of a very good puzzle.

Not everyone may agree, but for me this was less unsettling than the week before, with less need to take the definitions on trust. I admit 25dn caused a bit of head-scratching! My LOI was the clever 26ac, which put me in mind of Hamlet.

A highly enjoyable exercise, navigating this tight and tidy grid.

I looked at the long clue across the top and saw the second word immediately – quickly confirmed by looking at 6, 7, and 8dn. The rest of the letters didn’t look remotely like any part of London that I could think of.

Another first-class effort from Mr Price. Not especially difficult but some lovely devious touches that meant you had to be on your guard.

Nice to see a reference to ABBA, while they are making their virtual reappearance on stage, even though our household would rather you gave us that old time rock ‘n roll! This puzzle had things that needed reflection – overnight, if not actually after midnight.

What a fine puzzle! We have everything here, from a hidden word through CDs to an &lit. Two philosophers, and plenty of food for thought.

This was a smooth solve, until I hit a block trying to explain 17dn. The answer seemed obvious but the poetry of the wordplay was prose to me. Finally it jumped out at me, and there we were!

DNF

I struggled a bit with this, although I think it was good clueing rather than obscurity that troubled me. I didn’t know the worm at 1dn, though it may be familiar in Britain. I eventually dredged up the tea at 16 dn – luckily, since I’d never heard of the battle! The wordplay of 5dn was pretty.