August 29, 2014 – Big Dave's Crossword Blog

Toughie 1249

Toughie No 1249 by Elgar

What a difference a week makes!

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

It took me almost as long to unravel the wordplay in some of these clues as it did to complete the puzzle – hence the 5-star difficulty level. This puzzle was in a different league to last Friday’s offering.

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DT 27581

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 27581

Hints and tips by Deep Threat

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BD Rating – Difficulty ***Enjoyment ***

Good morning from South Staffs on a cloudy but dry morning.

One of those grids which produces four mini puzzles. 12a held me up long enough to make this *** for difficulty.

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DT 27576

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 27576

A full review by crypticsue

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

This puzzle was published on Saturday, 23rd August 2014

A lot of moans and groans on the day about difficulty and enjoyment level, with comparisons being made with the previous week’s prize puzzle.   Having written the reviews for both probably makes me in a good position to compare and contrast – I didn’t find a lot of difference – both took me the same time to solve and the enjoyment rating is the same.  Spotting that this one is a pangram and smiling at some of the grumpy comments did add to the entertainment.

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