Putting the words to lights – crossword clues explained in plain English
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ****
Ho ho ho! Merry Christmas to all of you! I have just spent 3 hours opening presents with two excited kids and some Prosecco. Today Shamus gives a lovely seasonal puzzle which I rated 3* for difficulty (although I did need Mr Google more than once and I got stuck not knowing a river – many thanks to Gazza and BD for bailing me out).… Continue reading
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BD Rating – Difficulty **** – Enjoyment ****
Much to like here, nice deception, great definitions, surprises, and as always Notabilis is wonderfully fair – I particularly appreciated the extra help with the plants (unflowering plant, low-growing plant), even though the answers are common enough.… Continue reading
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BD Rating – Difficulty ***** – Enjoyment *****
Today your mission is 16a (and there are more than first meets the eye). This brilliant puzzle by Elgar allowed me to get off to a good start but it did take me quite a while to finish, not helped by having had quite a few beers last night with Snape, who very kindly came to visit from Liverpool.… Continue reading
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BD Rating – Difficulty **** – Enjoyment ***
I struggled with this and by the time I had filled the grid there were many clues left unparsed. Mind you, I did try it after an evening in the pub.… Continue reading
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BD Rating – Difficulty ***** – Enjoyment ****
This took me double normal toughie time but in retrospect I should have seen a lot of it much earlier – others may get the personalities more quickly than I did, which already gives you the perimeter.… Continue reading
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ****
Pleasant and well-clued puzzle today – definitely not too tough so do try. The top half went in very quickly, then I was held up enough in the bottom half to finish in normal toughie time.… Continue reading
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ****
Toughie 1500! What a milestone, congratulations and many thanks to all involved. Today’s puzzle has lots of cleverly disguised definitions, fun wordplay and some great surface readings .… Continue reading
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BD Rating – Difficulty **** – Enjoyment ****
Artful and inventive clueing at its best and definitely worth a go, in case you are hesitating. This took me a little longer than usual and when the grid was full I was left with a few clues where the parsing needed some more thought.… Continue reading
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BD Rating – Difficulty ***/**** – Enjoyment ****
Excellent puzzle from Notabilis today with crisp clueing and great surfaces. With X, Y & Z appearing in the first 3 solutions, I thought we were destined for a pangram, but Q is absent – instead, we have a Nina!… Continue reading
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BD Rating – Difficulty **** – Enjoyment ****
This is the 101st toughie from Osmosis; the last one I blogged was his wonderful centenary crossword. He continues to delight with a quality puzzle that bears his trademark tight clueing and surprise answers – plenty of penny-drop moments, which is what it is all about.… Continue reading