Category: Weekend Cryptic

A gentle offering, with evenly paved surfaces slick enough to trip you up as to the cryptic parsing. I have a two or three quibbles, but no major complaint—nothing nearly so troublesome as my problems … Read more “Sunday Times 4831, 30 December 2018, by David McLean — A Saucerful of Resects”

With New Year falling between the puzzle and this, its blog, I wish everyone all the best for 2019. One of my plans for the coming year is to do the Times Crossword on paper … Read more “Times Cryptic No 27234 – Saturday, 29 December 2018. Happy belated New Year.”

Just a quick note for anyone expecting a blog for this puzzle today: as usual at Christmas the closing date for the Sunday puzzle is extended by a week, so the blog will appear on … Read more “Sunday Times 4830 by Dean Mayer”

An easy run-up to Christmas, I think. I was done before lunch, rather than over the meal, for once. I hope you all had pleasant festivities. Strangely, by the time I was three-quarters of the … Read more “Times Cryptic No 27228 – Saturday, 22 December 2018. All tees dotted and eyes crossed.”

I suddenly remembered this morning that I had to do this by tonight, and I’ve lost my copy so had to work it again, and I had no notes. But this wasn’t a hard one. … Read more “Sunday Times Cryptic No. 4829, by Jeff Pearce — Fag ged about it”

Those who like obscurities may have been disappointed – nothing here was new even to me (although the male ferret was lost in the distant reaches of memory). On the other hand, there were lots … Read more “Times Cryptic No 27222 – Saturday, 15 December 2018. A Dickens of a time.”

9:54. A very straightforward puzzle from Harry this week, but with some lovely touches. But I’m short of time this week so without further ado… Definitions are underlined, anagrams indicated like (THIS)*, anagram indicators like … Read more “Sunday Times 4828 by David McLean – physician heal thyself”

This had a nice spread of general knowledge, without ever getting totally over my head. Sports, poets, pharaohs, statistics – you pick it! I did it over lunch without timing it, but felt it was … Read more “Times Cryptic No 27216 – Saturday, 08 December 2018. Clues for all topics.”

I didn’t notice while working it last week, but this puzzle has a large number (13!) of enclosure clues. As usual, I went through this in no great haste, taking time to stop and savor … Read more “Sunday Times Cryptic No. 4827, by Dean Mayer — Boxing Day?”

There might have been a bit of a retro feel to this puzzle. Old scientists, old literature, old poets, old playwrights. I liked the fact that the several such that I didn’t know were gettable … Read more “Times Cryptic No 27210 – Saturday, 01 December 2018. Ah, the good old days!”