Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 26227
Hints and tips by Big Dave
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ****
A much better puzzle today from one of Thursday’s mystery setters. I almost feel deprived as there is nothing much to complain about!
Please leave a comment telling us what you thought. You can also add your assessment by selecting from one to five stars at the bottom of the post.
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Toughie No 344 by MynoT
Alphabet Spaghetti
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BD Rating – Difficulty **** – Enjoyment ***
MynoT always has something clever in his puzzles and, having failed to notice the message around the periphery in his last puzzle, I was determined to spot the trick this time. He does give us a good hint in 6a – as well as producing a pangram containing all 26 letters, he has placed each letter in alphabetical order in the answers, so that 6a-26a in turn contain A-M and 1d-21d contain N-Z. As I usually do with MynoT’s puzzles, I found this one tough going, with my man Chambers on overtime, but there was a sense of satisfaction when the final answer went in.
Let us know what you thought of it in a comment.
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Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 26226
Hints and tips by Big Dave
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BD Rating – Difficulty **** – Enjoyment ***
For me this was a harder than usual puzzle from Jay. The Northeast corner caused most problems, but as is usual in such cases, it’s difficult, in retrospect, to see why.
Please leave a comment telling us what you thought. You can also add your assessment by selecting from one to five stars at the bottom of the post.
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Toughie No 343 by Warbler
Sic Transit Gloria Mundi Tuesday!
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ****
Today’s enjoyable romp with Warbler was not over-taxing, but did include what were, for me, a couple of new words.
Please leave a comment telling us what you thought. You can also add your assessment by selecting from one to five stars at the bottom of the post.
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Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 26225
Hints and tips by Gazza
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BD Rating – Difficulty ***– Enjoyment ****
We have another very entertaining Ray T puzzle today. Apart from the very strange coincidence of 20a (which is obviously not down to the setter, and which I’m sure we’ll hear more of) there are a number of really entertaining clues. For those who can never get started on Ray’s puzzles (Good morning, Barrie) could I suggest that some easier clues to get into the puzzle are 10a, 15a, 24a and 4d.
As always we’re very keen to get your thoughts and opinions, so please keep the comments coming.
The answer to each clue is concealed between the curly brackets beneath it – just drag your cursor through the white space between the brackets if you want to reveal the solution.
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Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 26224
Hints and tips by Libellule
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BD Rating – Difficulty ***– Enjoyment ***
Another not overly complex crossword from Rufus today, with the usual smooth cluing and sprinkling of generally amusing double and cryptic definitions. Favourite clue – probably 5d. Was it me or did anybody else think this crossword was a bit “cornery”?
If you need to see the full answer just highlight the space between the curly brackets.
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Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 2533 – Hints
Hints and tips by Big Dave
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A few hints to get you started.
Please leave a comment telling us what you thought. You can also add your assessment by selecting from one to five stars at the bottom of the post.
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NTSPP – 011 Review
A Puzzle by Anax
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Anax promised us a gentle stroll through a cryptic crossword. This was the case. In style, it was firmly within the Daily Telegraph crossword tradition and should be approachable for all levels of ability.
Unusually for an Anax crossword, there were a few clues that I thought were a little on the weak side. I have highlighted these below.
The answers to the clues are contained within the squiggly brackets and if you highlight the space with your mouse, all will be revealed. Feel free to have your say after the blog, and you can rate the puzzle by clicking the stars as well.
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Not the Saturday Prize Puzzle – 011
A Puzzle by Anax
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Welcome to the eleventh in our series of weekly puzzles.
Anax makes his first appearance after his debut in the FT this week. Three down and two to go!
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Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 26223 – Hints
Big Dave’s Saturday Crossword Club
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Some hints to get you started.
Don’t forget that you can give your assessment of the puzzle. Five stars if you thought it was great, one if you hated it, four, three or two if it was somewhere in between.
As is usual for the weekend prize crosswords, I will select a few of the better clues and provide hints for them. A full review of this puzzle will be published on Thursday, 29th April.
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