Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 25990 – Review
A full analysis by Peter Biddlecombe
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ***
A mostly easy puzzle, helped by straightforward clues to 15-letter answers. Only delay was in NW corner, where 11, 4, 2, 8 were the last few answers. A pretty good puzzle this – only a couple of weak CDs, and pretty solid surface meanings – only 13’s “axe a version” seemed really silly to me, and about half were as good as you could hope for – 8, 15 and 18 for example.
The charity bike ride which should have been happening on the day this appears has been postponed in the hope of getting two dry days in a row next week, riding on the second after the muddy sections of towpath have dried out on the first. Continue reading “DT 25990 – Review”
Toughie No 190 by Kcit
Elegant and Enjoyable
+ – + – + – + – + – + – +
BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ****
Greetings from a soggy Calder Valley (Hebden Bridge sur mer!) and here are the results of Thursday’s Toughie Jury. In his various guises, Kcit is one of my favourite setters and like Giovanni produces beautifully consistent and elegant puzzles. Today’s is no exception and contains clues to make you smile, as well as clues that are technically sound and accurate.
Incidentally some news for those of you who also tackle the Guardian puzzle. One of their long-running setters, Albie Fiore, who compiled under the pen-name Taupi (and Satori in the FT) died yesterday. Albie’s puzzles were usually fiendishly difficult, but always fair and contained elegance and wit in every clue. A sad loss to the world of crosswords. My condolences to his wife and family.
Don’t forget you can rate the puzzle by awarding it a star rating below left. Your comments are always welcome and positively encouraged. New posters always take a little longer to appear as the first post has to be approved to check for spammers. Continue reading “Toughie 190”
Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 25994
Hints and tips by Gazza
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ***
There are a couple of strange anagram indicators in this puzzle. What’s your view on anagram indicators – do you think that virtually anything is acceptable, or should the indicator be a clear instruction to rearrange the letters of the adjacent word(s)? Let’s have a mass debate as Mrs Merton so graphically put it!
Please take the time to grade the enjoyment factor of the puzzle by selecting and clicking on one of the stars at the bottom of the review. As always your comments are most welcome.
Continue reading “DT 25994”