Prize Puzzle – 050 – Big Dave's Crossword Blog
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Prize Puzzle – 050

by Admin  

Monthly Prize Puzzle (July 2016)

A Puzzle by Alchemi

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Why not have a go at our latest Monthly Prize Puzzle?

A bit of detective work may be necessary in order to be able to enter!

The winner will receive their choice of any of the Telegraph Crossword Books published by Hamlyn.

Please note that, due to punitive postal charges, while the competition is open to all, the prize is only available to UK solvers.

A review will follow after the closing date (16th July 2016).

The competition is now closed

The puzzle is available by clicking on the above grid.

I’ve left this post open for comments, but if you don’t want your comment to be deleted then avoid asking for or giving help with the clues.

16 comments on “Prize Puzzle – 050”

  1. Well that took some working out but it all came together eventually. Very clever cluing for the ten answers with the double letters. Fun to solve.
    Thanks Alchemi.

  2. So frustrating! Guessed the probable answer before I started the solve and then had to find words that would yield the required letters.
    SW corner proved to be the most difficult but I also learnt a new phrase in 1a and something about Benedictine that I didn’t know!
    Thank you Alchemi – at least you made the instructions clear, unlike some others I could mention (not on this site) whose preamble leaves you totally in the dark!

  3. Very nice, Alchemi, many thanks. The double letters were fun, for one of them I kicked myself when I realised it was a double. Liked 12a, 6d, but all were good. Haven’t quite parsed everything -*********** [please avoid detailed explanations – this is a Prize crossword BD].

    Great entertainment, great concept, and clever clueing, thanks a lot.

    1. Apologies – was trying not to give anything away, but agree better without any details.

  4. Brilliant, Alchemi. Very well done and many thanks for a great challenge. I absolutely loved it from start to finish, even though, like Jane, I pretty soon twigged what the answer was going to be.

    Unlike Jane however, I found the NE corner the hardest with 16a my last one in, and I still have two answers not fully parsed which I will continue to worry away at.

  5. I’m with Jane in finding the SW corner the trickiest, but what an enjoyable solve it was.

    So many clever constructions from which to pick a favourite, but I’ll opt for 4d.

    Just one minor quibble (my bête noire) – the same containment indicator in two separate clues.

    Many thanks Alchemi, superbly entertaining.

  6. ************
    [This is a prize puzzle so please do NOT publish the answer. Gazza]

  8. A full grid although I have a couple yet to parse. Thoroughly enjoyable and I have the relevant name, so since I will be in the UK in September and can furnish a domestic address for pick up, I think I will enter the drawing. Many thanks Alchemi. You kept me well entertained today.

  9. I found this a bit tricky to start with but it all started to fall into place and then went quite smoothly. A very enjoyable solve.A few clues were a bit difficult to parse but overall a lot of fun. Thanks to Alchemi.

  10. Just couldn’t resist starting the weekend marathon with this wonderful offering from Alchemi.
    Thanks for the fun.

  11. It took me a little while to come up with the right name – dim!
    It also took me some time to get started – it’s always the same with Alchemi’s crosswords – first look I think, “Not a hope” but then it all falls into place.
    I found the top right and bottom left corners the most difficult and I still have a few answers that I don’t quite understand.
    All really good fun – thank you, Alchemi.

  12. I didn’t guess the name until I finished the puzzle and wrote down what letters I had and now I feel silly. 21 and 23 d were my favourites, and I also found the sw corner the hardest. Thank you Alchemi

  13. Thanks to Alchemi for the brilliant entertainment which I started today. SW fell into place quickly. Took double and quadruple the time for NW and SE respectively. In between could easily guess the answer and now confirmed with getting 8 of the 10 double letters. But before I press the magic button, I would like to try the four clues which are yet to be parsed and that is going to be Sunday next. As of now, my favourite is 4d but I also like 19a, 26a, 29a, 3d, 21d and 25d.

  14. Oh, that was a petit faux pas! The closing date being 16th, I have just pressed the magic button!

Comments are closed.