November 20, 2009 – Big Dave's Crossword Blog

ST 2510

Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 2510

A full analysis by Peter Biddlecombe

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BD Rating – Difficulty *** Enjoyment ****

 

Another dose of quality, this week with a govt/military flavour in quite a few of the long answers – Magna Carta, Victoria Cross, esprit de corps, and secret service. Overall difficulty matched an easy but not very easy Times puzzle.

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Toughie 255

Toughie No 255 by Osmosis

At full stretch

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BD Rating – Difficulty ***** Enjoyment ***

This was a bit of a monster, not helped by the E/E* grid and a preponderance of very common cross-checking letters; 8a was a case in point, a ten minute slog with only -A-E- available. The clues were a mix of some truly stunning bits of inventiveness and the occasional grumble, typified by the past participle “welcomed” in 9d.

*E/E means even/even – in which the answers appear in the even-numbered rows and columns.

Please add your comments and questions; and don’t forget the curly brackets contain the answers – left-click and drag the cursor over them if you get really desperate.

Clues in blue are the ones I enjoyed most of all.

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DT 26091

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 26091

Hints and tips by Gazza

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BD Rating – Difficulty ***Enjoyment ***

We have another entertaining puzzle from our usual Friday setter. With most puzzles you find at least one or two surface readings which are a bit “iffy”, but Giovanni always produces beautifully smooth clues. I think that today he has a given us a puzzle which treads a fine line by being within the reach of novice solvers whilst posing enough of a challenge for the more experienced.
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As usual the answers are hidden inside the curly brackets – if you want to reveal one, just select the white space inside.

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