Category: Weekend Cryptic

In these times of Christmas celebrations, COVID lockdowns, and summer travel (this side of the equator), the sort of police controls at 1ac loom large! Not that any of those things trouble our household … … Read more “Times Cryptic No 27870 – Saturday, 9 January 2021. Don’t drink or drive.”

13:55. A medium-difficulty puzzle from Harry this week. There were quite a few cryptic definitions, which won’t be to everyone’s taste. I quite liked these though, particularly the clever 14ac and 3dn. Clue of the … Read more “Sunday Times 4936 by David McLean”

Well, this would have been a much easier job than the week before, if only I hadn’t come up with a plausible but wrong solution to an anagram. That gave me a crossing letter which … Read more “Times Cryptic No 27864 – Saturday, 2 Jan 2021. There’s no such thing as a free hunch!”

This wonderful puzzle seemed like the largest helping of seasonal cheer I had anywhere at one time this year (besides when I gave another spin to Bob Dylan’s Christmas in the Heart). If an answer … Read more “Sunday Times Christmas Cryptic 4935, by Robert Price — What, no figgy pudding?”

This was a rather challenging, quirky puzzle. With many clues, I needed to look closely at the clue after I found the answer, to make sure I understood the definition, or the wordplay, or both! … Read more “Times Cryptic No 27858 – Saturday, 26 December 2020. Fill it au poivre?”

11:35. The Sunday Times puzzle before Christmas always used to be a jumbo, so I was expecting extended blogging duty this week. I had forgotten that last year the jumbo was the puzzle after Christmas, … Read more “Sunday Times 4934 by Dean Mayer”

By the sound of it, some solvers like to take a structured approach: start with 1ac and proceed in order to 24dn, before going back to fill in any gaps. That’s not my style! I … Read more “Times Cryptic No 27852 – Saturday, 19 December 2020. All over the grid.”

What    a      tonic        for          my            nerves… I indicate (man as rag)* like this, and italicize anagrinds in the clues. ACROSS  1 Country girl on booze university … (8) PORTUGAL — PORT, “booze” with GAL, “girl” + U(niversity) attached  5 … lectured for … Read more “Sunday Times Cryptic No 4933 by David McLean — Take it easy on the curves…”

In the quiz category “crosswords as a foreign language”, I did quite poorly on vocabulary this week! The answers at 2dn and 6dn have both come up occasionally before, as has the word for “seaweed” … Read more “Times Cryptic No 27846 – Saturday, 12 December 2020. Lost for words.”

27:28. Phew! That was tough, but also absolutely superb. So many clues that appeared completely baffling until the eventual PDM (penny-dropping moment), but none of the difficulty is a result of obscure vocabulary. Loads of … Read more “Sunday Times 4932 by Robert Price”