Category: Weekend Cryptic

8:38. Not a difficult puzzle but a fun solve, partly because of the unusual grid: apart from the long ones across and down the middle all the answers are eight-letter words, and if you can … Read more “Sunday Times 4896 by Robert Price – off the grid”

I found this another relatively easy number for a Saturday. My FOI was 4ac, and LOI was 1ac, which I think was also my favourite among a number of contenders. Several delightful clues, like 14ac … Read more “Times Cryptic No 27624 – Saturday, 28 March 2020. Heteronyms ’R US.”

I hope everyone here and their loved ones are well and safe. Having a distraction like a good crossword puzzle in a time like this can be a godsend. To tackle a problem for which … Read more “Sunday Times Cryptic 4895, by Dean Mayer — Golden archness”

I barely finished the horror Friday puzzle by the time Saturday’s reached the web site, so it was a relief this one was solvable! My FIO was 14ac, which was so obviously an anagram. My … Read more “Times Cryptic No 27618 – Saturday, 21 March 2020. Doubling down on definitions.”

9:40. Greetings from a quarantined household. One of my kids developed a persistent dry cough a little under a week ago (he’s fine – the cough disappeared without any other symptoms) so we’ve been confined … Read more “Sunday Times 4894 by David McLean”

This puzzle was much easier than the previous week, with ‘starter’ clues like 24dn and 26dn, followed by meatier things that covered a broad range of general knowledge, but were guessable if you didn’t know. … Read more “Times Cryptic No 27612 – Saturday, 14 March 2020. Everything you could ask for.”

Bob was in great form with this outing, giving us no less than three well-crafted &lits (some puzzles don’t even give us a slightly clumsy one), and some diabolically devious cluing (21 and 2D stand … Read more “Sunday Times Cryptic No 4893, 8 III 2020, by Robert Price — Literally amazing”

This puzzle took me several times longer than the week before. No walk in the park here! I wrote in 1ac at a glance, and then there was a long interlude before I solved 20ac. … Read more “Times Cryptic No 27606 – Saturday, 07 March 2020. Of imaginary beasts and fanciful fractions.”

14:49. This one started very easy (1ac went straight in) but then got trickier, culminating in a very long pause at the end over 3dn. When I eventually figured out what was going on, it … Read more “Sunday Times 4892 by Dean Mayer – déjà vu”

This week’s puzzle felt like a speed test. 1ac went in at a glance, and then each helper letter seemed to lead to another answer. So, I was finished quite quickly, although I admit I … Read more “Times Cryptic No 27600 – Saturday, 29 February 2020. A run in the park.”