Big Dave's Crossword Blog

NTSPP – 103 (Review)

Prolixic — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 15:00:25 +0000

Not the Saturday Prize Puzzle – 103

A Puzzle by Alchemi

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Bigging It Up

Welcome back to Alchemi with a fun filled feast of anagrams (15) and other clues. The review is a little brief as I am heading off for the Cruciverbalists’ Convention (aka drinking) at the Bridge House.

Happy Birthday

Prolixic — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 14:48:51 +0000

Filed under: Crosswords

NTSPP – 103

Admin — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 12:00:37 +0000

Not the Saturday Prize Puzzle - 103

A Puzzle by Alchemi

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Welcome to the latest in our series of weekly puzzles.

This week we have another excellent puzzle by Alchemi.

DT 26774 (Hints)

Big Dave — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 08:00:21 +0000

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 26774 (Hints)

Big Dave's Crossword Club

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Three years ago today I set up this blog, and the first post was published the following day - some hints for Toughie 86. Since then we have seen over 5,000,000 page views, with a record daily total of 10,504 a week ago today. There have been 2,375 posts published and a further 175 static pages. To say that this has far exceeded my wildest dreams is an understatement. I could not have done it without the the help of the fabulous team of bloggers, some of whom have been with me since early 2009.

I will be at the he Bridge House in Westbourne Terrace Road, London W2 all day, where I expect to be joined by Elgar, Jetdoc, Crypticsue, Prolixic and Gnomethang, so if you live nearby why not come along and join us. I am hoping that some hints might be added throughout the day, but you can always ask for help by leaving a comment.

Toughie 710

tilsit — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 17:07:16 +0000

Toughie No 710 by Osmosis

Gnisrever hcum ooT!

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BD Rating - Difficulty ***** - Enjoyment ****

Greetings from the Calder Valley. Today's Friday Fiend is Osmosis who produces some of the most challenging Toughies, and today's is no exception. This is quite a beast of a puzzle and I struggled for a while to get a foothold after entering a couple of answers wrongly (IN TUNE at 20 down and KINDLE at 21 ac). However perseverance paid off and things fell into place. Osmosis (and his other guise of Scorpion in the Indy) puzzles are notable for their detailed constructs which can be rather convoluted. This for me sometimes spoils things for me as it means the clue looks slightly forced and the pudding somewhat over-egged. There were a lot of reversals today as well. Having to rely on the unchecked letters to solve a clue, as happened with a couple of clues today because the definition and indications are very very obscure or vague, is not to me a fair way of puzzle-solving. I feel a heated debate coming on tomorrow!

ST 2623

gnomethang — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 12:00:36 +0000

Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 2623

A full review by Gnomethang

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BD Rating - Difficulty *** - Enjoyment ****

Afternoon All! I have recently flown through these reviews due to work commitments and today was no exception. Having attempted to slow down and smell the roses I must urge anyone reading this to look at these clues in isolation and marvel at the superb surface readings that make perfect sense and mostly either perfectly define the answer or else completely mislead. Wonderful stuff!

DT 26773

gazza — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 11:00:13 +0000

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 26773

Hints and tips by Gazza

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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ***

Giovanni periodically provides a puzzle which is easier than normal and this one will probably come as a relief to those who have struggled this week. I breezed through most of it and then slowed down a bit in the SW corner. Let us know how you fared.

DT 26768

crypticsue — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 08:00:38 +0000

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 26768

A full review by Crypticsue

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BD Rating - Difficulty ***- Enjoyment ***

A sneaky one from our Mysteron this week. There I was solving clues in a satisfactorily straightforward manner only to come to a grinding halt on my last one which took me several minutes before the penny dropped. A very enjoyable mix of clues and a nice one to revisit for this review too.

Toughie 709

bufo — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 14:54:47 +0000

Toughie No 709 by Petitjean

Please wear your "slightly mad" hat today!

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BD Rating - Difficulty **** - Enjoyment ****

This was quite a tough Toughie where a fair amount of thought was needed to unravel some of the wordplay.

DT 26772

Big Dave — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 11:34:24 +0000

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 26772

Hints and tips by Big Dave

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BD Rating - Difficulty ** - Enjoyment ****

Love him or hate him, Ray T makes a speedy return to the back page. I have based the difficulty on my personal solving time, but feel free to disagree.

Toughie 708

gazza — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 12:57:23 +0000

Toughie No 708 by Elkamere

Romps with old sports stars

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

This is a really enjoyable puzzle from Elkamere. He’s superb at disguising definitions and there are some excellent examples here, but he’s also included several “easy” clues to give you some toeholds for the harder ones. It also seems to have two mini-themes involving a) old sports stars and b) naughty sexual activities. Let us know if you enjoyed it as much as I did.

DT 26771

pommers — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 09:59:20 +0000

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 26771

Hints and tips by pommers

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BD Rating - Difficulty *** - Enjoyment ****

Hola from the Vega Baja. This is a great puzzle today but it’s Jay at his trickiest for quite some time I reckon. There's a bit of a theme in here based on today but I didn't notice it for ages - stupid or what? I struggled for a bit but I got there when I twigged what day it is (those north of Hadrian's Wall will probably think it's obvious and give it only 2*). I’ve had to go for 3* because of my time but maybe it’s doing it in the middle of the night and not being Scottish that’s caused me the trouble. I found it very enjoyable and with a good mixture of clues ranging from a couple of simple ‘gimmes’ to a couple of Toughie standard D’oh’s when the pennies finally drop. My opinion is that this is Jay at his very best - what do you think of it?

Toughie 707

Big Dave — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 14:00:54 +0000

Toughie No 707 by Messinae

The Devil is in the details

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BD Rating - Difficulty ** - Enjoyment ****

Although this Toughie was easier than it's back-page partner, I found it to be considerably more enjoyable.

DT 26770

gazza — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 11:01:57 +0000

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 26770

Hints and tips by Gazza

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

This is a puzzle with all the hallmarks of Petitjean (my suspicions were first aroused by the Quickie pun). It has some pretty modern references (one so modern that it’s not in my 2008 edition of Chambers) so those who complain about crosswords being designed for oldies should be pleased. It has some excellent penny-drop moments and I really enjoyed it. Let us know what you think.

DT 26769

Digby — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 10:25:50 +0000

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 26769

Hints and tips by Digby

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BD Rating - Difficulty ** - Enjoyment ***

Thanks for all your messages of support on Friday. Having had the weekend to recover here we go again, this time with a Rufus.

The observant ones amongst you might have noticed that my Gravatar (the picture over there >>>) has changed recently to a Buccaneer coming towards you at about 600mph. It’s the jet that Rufus and I used to fly from aircraft carriers, so it’s a real treat to be able to review one of his puzzles. His crosswords always provide a mixture of challenge and amusement, and this one is no exception - how does he manage to keep up the standard time after time?

Maybe getting up early meant that my brain wasn’t quite in gear, but I found one or two clues a little tenuous – but what do you think?

ST 2623 (Hints)

Big Dave — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 12:05:28 +0000

Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 2623 (Hints)

Hints and tips by Big Dave

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As is usual for the weekend prize crosswords, I will select a few of the more difficult clues and provide hints for them.

NTSPP – 102 (Review)

Prolixic — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 16:00:55 +0000

Not the Saturday Prize Puzzle - 102

An Alphabetical Jigsaw by Hieroglyph

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Welcome back to Heiroglyph with a different kind of crossword. I have to admit that alphabetical jigsaws are not my cup of tea but I did enjoy this one. The clues were all relatively gentle and fitting them into the grid was not at all difficult.

NTSPP – 102

Admin — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 12:00:37 +0000

Not the Saturday Prize Puzzle - 102

An Alphabetical Jigsaw by Hieroglyph

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Welcome to the latest in our series of weekly puzzles.

This week we have our second Alphabetical Jigsaw - this one is set by Hieroglyph. Instructions are available when you select the puzzle.

DT 26768 (Hints)

Big Dave — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 11:15:31 +0000

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 26768 (Hints)

Big Dave's Crossword Club

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As is usual for the weekend prize crosswords, an assortment of clues, including some of the more difficult ones, have been selected and hints provided for them.

Toughie 706

tilsit — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 17:21:02 +0000

Toughie No 706 by Notabilis

Hints and tips by Tilsit

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BD Rating - Difficulty **** - Enjoyment *****

Greetings from the Calder Valley. Time for the Friday Fiend and today we have a battle with Notabilis, one of my very favourite setters who consistently produces elegant and superior puzzles that leave you with a feeling a satisfaction when you enter the last answer. Today's challenge is no exception with some really grand clues.