Putting the words to lights – crossword clues explained in plain English
Shamus is Philip Marlow [The fictional character Philip Marlowe, created by Raymond Chandler, lived in Shamus Town, a loosely disguised Los Angeles]. He sets puzzles as Hypnos in the Independent and Sleuth in the Financial Times. He also sets some of the questions on “Only Connect”
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BD Rating – Difficulty **/*** – Enjoyment ***
Thanks to Shamus for an enjoyable workout. I thought it was fairly gentle on the whole but, as is usually the case for me, I had most trouble sorting out the two long anagrams.… Continue reading
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ***
The answers to this one all went in fairly painlessly (though I had to check that what I’d worked out for 15d was a real word) until I reached 28a which held me up for ages and which pushed the difficulty rating up from 1.5… Continue reading
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BD Rating – Difficulty **/*** – Enjoyment ***
Hi all. Shamus provides today’s harder puzzle which I found not too much harder than the back page save for a spot of bother at the end with 15a and 16d. … Continue reading
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ****
Hello to you all on this fine Cluesday, the start of the Toughie week. I have no idea if Shamus is getting a little less spiky or if it’s just that I’m getting used to his style. … Continue reading
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BD Rating – Difficulty **** – Enjoyment ****
I had difficulty getting on the right wavelength today and took longer than I perhaps should have done. I then had problems parsing the last couple of answers.… Continue reading
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ****
Hi there. I’m becoming more attuned to Shamus’s style than I used to be, so didn’t have too many problems with this. I progressed steadily along the road to Solution, more or less top to bottom, and really enjoyed the scenery. … Continue reading
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ***
Greetings from Warrington. I’m rather relieved this is on the easier side of things as I’ve had to do this from the clue list without a grid. Nothing terribly taxing and some nice clues to make you smile.… Continue reading
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BD Rating – Difficulty **/*** – Enjoyment ***
Another Thursday and another puzzle that was fairly straightforward. My only blip was filling in the wrong answer at 21 down.
Please leave a comment telling us what you thought.… Continue reading
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BD Rating – Difficulty ***/**** – Enjoyment ****
Hi everybody. As I was remiss and didn’t include pictures on Tuesday I am required to make up the time on today’s puzzle. Or perhaps, BD had already offered it to me in Macclesfield. … Continue reading
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ***/****
We’re having a spell of glorious weather in Devon at the moment and Shamus has contributed to the feeling of well-being with a very pleasant and not overly tough puzzle.… Continue reading