Toughie No 230 by Giovanni
This Crossword is Brought to You by…..
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BD Rating – Difficulty **** – Enjoyment ****
An interesting challenge today which I found quite tough in parts and blindingly easy in others. I particularly struggled with the bottom left corner. As I solve the puzzle on line, I usually play guess the setter until I can contact a chum who takes the paper. I have to say I wouldn’t have guessed today’s was Giovanni, it didn’t feel like one of his puzzles. However, it was the usual enjoyable mix of witty but scrupulously fair clues. Aspiring setters should always take time to study Giovanni’s clues as they are an absolutel model of perfection.
Recently it was announced that ITV are to be allowed to infest their already dreary programmes with product placement, and I thought this had arrived early in Crossword-land today as 6 across required you to know the name of a leading motor-oil brand (other leading brands of motor oil are available) to help you solve the clue. Some curious answers today including the name of a Cultural Colossus (see yesterday’s Crossword blog).
Off we go, and remember your home is at risk if you put a tin containing petrol in your microwave and turn it on….
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Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 26054
Hints and tips by Gazza
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ***
Libellule was due to review this puzzle, but he is unable to get on-line at the moment, so I’ve taken it on at short notice – hence the late posting, for which I apologise.
This one is certainly easier than yesterday’s, but it still has one new word and one new meaning for me. The answers as usual are hidden inside the curly brackets – just highlight the white space inside to reveal all.
All comments are welcome.
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Toughie No 229 by Messinae
An Abomination of Clergy
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ***
After yesterday’s divertissement we’re back on track today with a good solid Toughie, which seems to have a theme relating to religion, retribution, the occult and horror. It has some good surface readings with a few smiles along the way.
Please let us know your opinion via a comment.
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Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 26053
Oh No It’s Not! Oh Yes It Is!! Er….Oh No It’s Not!!!
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BD Rating – Difficulty **** – Enjoyment ****
A lovely puzzle with some really good clues, especially the clever ones at 9 across, 26 across and . However, some of your bloggers have been involved in heated debate today over one clue in particular. 6 across refers to the Biblical story of Cain and Abel. At first I solved it and thought it was a nice clue but then I started to wonder if Abel was the Third Man. Checks with that eminent theologian, The slightly Reverend Big Dave revealed that Abel was indeed the Third Man, after Adam and Cain. I had forgotten about Eve’s sex, but let’s not go there. Fine thought I, nice clue, and move on. Wrong! Of course Cain murdered Abel; everyone worked that out without calling in Miss Marple. So therefore Abel was the victim! By now the other bloggers had joined in and I suspect it’s a misprint and should have read “This victim was The Third Man”.
Enough of matters theological. On with the blog. Don’t forget to have your say and to mark the puzzle with the star rating system. New posters should be aware that we keep the answers hidden between the curly brackets and that they need to be highlighted with your mouse to reveal them. First-time posters on the blog should also know that their posts sometimes take a little while to appear as they have to be moderated to check we are not being attaced by spammers.
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Toughie No 228 by Campbell
No Comment
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BD Rating – Difficulty * – Enjoyment **
I am not sure what to say about this Toughie, so I won’t. But if you want to claim that you have done a Toughie, then this is the one to go for…
As usual please leave a comment if you want to share a thought or two with us.
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Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 26052
Hints and tips by Gazza
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment **
I thought that this one was a bit of a curate’s egg – a few nice clues mixed in with some pretty tired ones. You may, of course, disagree – we like to hear all opinions, so please let us know what you think, but if you’re going to say that it was wonderful or it was horrible please do try to give reasons or examples, so that we can get a debate going.
As usual the answers are hidden inside the curly brackets, so that you don’t see them accidentally. If you do want to see the answer, just highlight the white space between the brackets.
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Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 26051
Hints and tips by Big Dave
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ***
A typical offering from our Monday Maestro. You can get a bit lost in the isolated corners and I wasn’t too happy about “in Pakistan” as the definition of a river. There were, however, a few smiles along the way.
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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Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 2504 – Hints
Hints and tips by Big Dave
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ***
Once again a highlight of the week, it’s a pity that more people don’t do these Sunday puzzles.
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.
Peter Biddlecombe’s full review of this puzzle will be published at 12.00 on Friday, 9th October.
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Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 26050 – Hints
Big Dave’s Saturday Crossword Club
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ***
After last week’s major surprise, today’s puzzle was bound to be an anticlimax for me. I found this one easy, even though I hated the grid.
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 by Tilsit will be published at 12.00 on Thursday, 8th October.
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Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 2503
A full analysis by Peter Biddlecombe
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ****
I lost my original copy of this, but think it took a little longer than usual, as I’d entered quite a convincing red herring answer at 8D and had to correct this to get 4A – ?O?S?S?T didn’t look any more likely than ?O?S?S?R
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