September 17, 2010 – Big Dave's Crossword Blog

Toughie 426

Toughie No 426 by Osmosis

The Grumpy Old Man Reloaded

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BD Rating – Difficulty ***Enjoyment **

I have enjoyed many previous puzzles from Osmosis, but I found this one to be a bit of a slog for little reward.

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ST 2553

Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 2553

A full analysis by Peter Biddlecombe

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

This was a very easy puzzle for me – apart from the beginning of an indecipherable jotting for 7A, presumably interrupted by spotting the answer or deciding to move on, my copy has no writing other than the completed grid and the timing. Part of the easiness probably came from the two long answers which are old crossword favourites. The clues include some of BG’s lively twists on cryptic wordplay, and as usual they make good sense in both the cryptic and surface readings.

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DT 26348

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 26348

Hints and tips by Gazza

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

I’d be interested to hear from those who did Wednesday’s Toughie (also by Giovanni) as to how you think that one compares with this one. It seems to me that they are of a very similar standard of difficulty. If you didn’t do Wednesday’s Toughie I’d still like to hear what you thought of this one.
For newcomers, the answers are concealed between the brackets under the relevant clues. Just drag your cursor through the space between the brackets to unhide one.

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