Sloggers and Betters 10
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| What? |
The 10th “Sloggers and Betters” gathering for crossword setters and blog contributors and readers will take place in London, following on, as in previous years, from the annual lunch for Times setters. |
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January 29, 2009 – 12:00 am
Welcome to Big Dave’s Crossword Blog
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You have reached the world’s biggest and best crossword blog. If you are looking for help with the Daily and Sunday Telegraph cryptic crosswords, a total of 11 puzzles a week, then you have come to the right place.
If this is your first time, or for more information about this site, please click on Read More »
Toughie No 984 by Petitjean
Hints and Tips by Bufo
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ***
Even Petitjean puzzles are fairly straightforward when it’s my turn to blog!
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Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 27185
Hints and tips by Big Dave
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment **
A slightly tricky puzzle which I found to be a tad more difficult than today’s Toughie.
I’m off to London for the S&B meeting, and hope to see some of you there.
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Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 2691
A full review by gnomethang
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ****
Morning All! – Another fine puzzle from Virgilius. I nearly gave this four stars for difficulty but when reviewing realised it was just me having a bad day!.
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Toughie No 983 by Giovanni
Thank Goodness for Wikipedia
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ***
There were quite a few answers today (especially in the across clues) which I didn’t know and which I needed to verify with Google or Wikipedia, but as always Giovanni’s wordplay is very precise and I didn’t find the whole thing too difficult (it was made easier by being able to work out the long anagram fairly early on from the enumeration).
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Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 27184
Hints and tips by scchua
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BD Rating – Difficulty *+*/2 – Enjoyment ***
This was quite easy (1.5-2* difficulty), and a 3* for enjoyment (short as it was). Thanks to Jay.
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Toughie No 982 by Excalibur
Something to get your teeth into?
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ***
Good afternoon from South Staffs, although by the time this is published I expect to be well towards a stop-off in Kent, en route to France.
This being my first go at blogging a Toughie, I’m short of reference points for the difficulty – I don’t usually look at how long a Toughie takes me. But on the basis that this one took about twice the time I would take for a ** back pager, I think ** is reasonable.
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Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 27183
Hints and tips by Big Dave
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BD Rating – Difficulty * – Enjoyment **
Many thanks to Deep Threat, who has offered to step in and review today’s Toughie. He hasn’t missed much here, though. For me this was one of those “read a clue and write in the answer” puzzles. Even being a pangram doesn’t rescue it from mediocrity.
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Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 27182
Hints and tips by Libellule
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ****
Its a Bank Holiday today in France, but its raining, and has been raining for the last two days, and will probably rain for the rest of the week. However I did enjoy doing this crossword from the Maestro, which made the morning brighter than it really is.
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Monthly Prize Puzzle No 12 (May 2013) by Alchemi
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Congratulations to Dave Howell, the winner of the May Prize Puzzle competition. This time we not only had to solve the crossword but also read the Nina in rows 3, 13 and 11. These instructed you to look at four down, reverse it and then split the solution 2, 4 thus leaving DE TROP to be submitted as the competition entry to win the choice of a Telegraph Puzzle Book from Hamlyn Books.
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Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 2692 (Hints)
Hints and tips by Big Dave
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As is usual for the weekend prize crosswords, I will select a few of the more difficult clues and provide hints for them.
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