Toughie No 634 by Firefly
The Curse of the 1 Across
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment **
Greetings from the Calder Valley.
Our Friday Fiend today is Firefly and I found this a curate’s egg of a puzzle. Some nice clues, but a number that made me suck my teeth. For most setters, the clue at 1 across is usually one of the most important clues in the puzzle as it draws you into the puzzle and I can see how today’s looks to be a really clever one that possesses the necessary pulling power. However, for me, it doesn’t quite hit the mark. I actually wondered whether this was Firefly as some of the clues seemed to be in the style of one of the other setters.
I am still unsure as to how the last across clue went together. I suppose I ended up feeling that some of these clues were a bit too clever for their own good. It’s something that causes me considerable personal pain when I feel this way about puzzles, but I also feel my role here is to explain honestly how I feel. As I write the blog for this I am becoming more unhappy with the puzzle. It’s a shame as I really like Firefly’s puzzles in other publications such as the Listener Crossword.