Big Dave's Crossword Blog – Page 1137 – Putting the words to lights – crossword clues explained in plain English

NTSPP – 048 (Review)

Not the Saturday Prize Puzzle – 048

A Puzzle by Qix

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A warm welcome to Qix with his first NTSPP crossword; although as Big Dave pointed out he has previous form being a setter for the Glasgow Herald.  This was an enjoyable and not overly difficult puzzle with lots of references in the answers and in the clues to chess and bridge.

The grid was not the most friendly for the solver with 6 double unches and 2 (shock) triple unches.  Fortunately, the clues for the triple unches were not the most difficult in the puzzle.

As befits a setter from Scotland there were some Scottish references though not at the level of deviousness employed by John McKie in his guise as Myops.

Favourite clues for me were 1d, 9a and 4d.

Hopefully, Qix will entertain us again in the not too distant future.

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NTSPP – 048 (Comments)

Not the Saturday Prize Puzzle – 048

A Puzzle by Qix

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Welcome to the forty eighth in our series of weekly puzzles.

Qix joined us as a regular a few weeks back, but how many of you knew that he sets crosswords for the Glasgow Herald?  Today he has set one especially for us.  Ignore the dreadful grid and you should find this to be a very enjoyable puzzle.

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DT 26444 (Hints)

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 26444 (Hints)

Big Dave’s Saturday Crossword Club

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

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Toughie 490

Toughie No 490 by Notabilis

OK, I failed to spot Nina!

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

Tilsit has been called up for family chauffeuring duties and has left me with an excellent puzzle to review for the second consecutive week.

Look at the two across rows and the two down rows which have three answers.

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DT 26443

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 26443

Hints and tips by Gazza

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BD Rating – Difficulty ***Enjoyment ***

Today’s puzzle (presumably by Giovanni) has very few anagrams. Let us know how you found it in a comment.
To reveal an answer highlight the space between the curly brackets under the relevant clue.

Continue reading “DT 26443”

DT 26438

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 26438

A Full Review by Gnomethang

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BD Rating – Difficulty ***Enjoyment ***

Morning All! We had a couple of troublesome clues in this puzzle from (I think) Cephas. In the end there was nothing to stop one completing but it did increase the solving time a tad.

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Toughie 489

Toughie No 489 by Kcit

Hints and tips by Bufo

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BD Rating – Difficulty **Enjoyment ***

I had no problems at all with this one. I solved it without breaking sweat and could understand all the clues without difficulty.

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ST 2568

Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 2568

Oh Yes It Is!

A full review by Tilsit

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BD Rating – Difficulty **Enjoyment ***

Hi everyone

I’ve volunteered to take on blogging the Sunday puzzle, so barring trips to you-know-where, I’ll be here to review this excellent Sunday Telegraph challenge each week.

Thanks to Peter Biddlecombe for his sterling work in this slot and I wish him every success in his new role. He is an absolutely perfect choice for the post. I’m sure a few of his rivals for the Times Crossword Championship will also be pleased that he will presumably no longer be taking part as a result.

Back to the puzzle. This was published on Boxing Day and obviously had an extended deadline, because of the holidays. It was a fine tonic after the mind stretching of Elgar’s Christmas Day Enigmatic Toughie, although I have a minor grumble.

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DT 100002

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 100002

A Full Review by Gnomethang

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BD Rating – Difficulty **Enjoyment ****

Afternoon All!. As usual around Christmas time we get puzzles with many festive references and this one is chock full of them. Many of the clues contain the word Christmas and many of the answers are Christmas related. I found it good fun to solve and not too taxing – just what you need on a busy day. Continue reading “DT 100002”