Toughie No 382 by Elgar
An eruption of pleasure
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ****
The sight of all those 1ac references in (mostly) the down clues made me concentrate on that clue first. I couldn’t see the answer immediately but the enumeration was helpful, so I moved on to the first reference at 11a, trying to find 9-letter anagrams including the letters of BRISTOL. Of those I found, one seemed very likely as fitting a theme (it also matched the wordplay) and that made 1a much easier. Identifying the theme was by no means a guarantee of an easy ride and there were quite a few tough clues to crack, but the first run-through elicited 14 answers and the only real headaches beyond that were awkwardly spelt (or, for me, unknown) members of the theme set.
This was good entertainment as ever from Elgar, perhaps without the usual degree of naughtiness and LOL moments, but the enjoyment factor was kept aloft by a number of witty definitions and wordplay indicators. My favourite clues are highlighted in blue.
Leave a comment telling us what you thought. You can also add your assessment by selecting from one to five stars at the bottom of the post.
[Today I am trying out a new idea – if you hover over a clue the background changes to grey and you should be able to see the answer. Let me know what you think – particularly if you are using an iPhone or similar. BD]
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Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 2542
A full analysis by Peter Biddlecombe
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ****
Back to the routine format for this report. The content of the grid is not routine – I can’t see any significant presence of those old favourite crossword grid visitors. And the clues are … you know what I’m going to say.
One other thing: The first puzzle of mine (edited by Don Manley) to appear in real print is in this week’s Church Times. For one week you can see it in their online version here. To print from this page with a complete grid image, copy/paste the heading, grid and clues to Microsoft Word or similar. Or print pages 2-4 in landscape if you want a quicker way. [I haven’t checked what happens in browsers other than Firefox – it might print fine as it is in Internet Explorer]
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Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 26282
Hints and tips by Gazza
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BD Rating – Difficulty **** – Enjoyment ***
We have a typical Giovanni today with a good mixture of clues. It took me longer to solve than an average Giovanni, but looking back on it, I couldn’t really see why because, as always, his clues are very fair. Let us know what you thought of it in a comment.
For those who are still baffled after reading the hints, the answers are concealed between the brackets under the clues. Highlight the white space between the brackets to reveal.
[Today I am trying out a new idea – if you hover over a clue the background changes to grey and you should be able to see the answer. Let me know what you think – particularly if you are using an iPhone or similar. BD]
Continue reading “DT 26282”