Toughie No 221 by Shamus
Pulses and Smiles
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ****
When I wrote the review of yesterday’s Cryptic I said that it was pretty straightforward but with not a great deal to get the pulses racing or bring a smile to the lips. I did not know at the time of writing that it was by Shamus, who later left a tongue-in-cheek comment to the effect that he would try to get into a more pulse-racing mode in future puzzles. Imagine my surprise when the Toughie I have to review the very next day is by the same setter, and, as good as his word, he’s included a number of challenging and amusing clues.
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Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 26041
One Banana, Two Banana, Three Banana Four…….
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment: ***
Greetings from the rain-kissed paradise that is the Calder Valley. A nice friendly puzzle that shouldn’t cause too much trouble to newer solvers, although a couple of clues require a careful reading of the words. I also thought there were rather a lot of anagrams (eleven actually, especially of short words and five out of the first six clues), which can suggest a little laziness on behalf of the setter, although here the surface readings of clues are generally very good.
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