Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 26117
Hints and tips by Rishi
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ***
Today’s crossword from our Monday Maestro posed some difficulties which I had to surmount before completing the puzzle. At one stage, after the initial flurry of quick fills, I had ten to go: 10a, 14a, 28a, 29a, 30a and 7d, 18d, 19d,21d and 26d. Luckily these fell one by one: why the bottom left corner held on till the end was because of my own mistake in writing wrongly the second word in the long phrasal 11d. I got wise to it only after some crossings wouldn’t gel.
Clues I liked especially: 20a, 1d.
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Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 2515 – Hints
Hints and tips by Big Dave
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment *****
Four weeks ago Sunsetter hinted that there might be a themed puzzle appropriate to the time of year – well here it is! You are certain to spot the theme very quickly, but in order not to spoil it I have decided not to provide hints for the first and last across clues.
This is quite an easy puzzle, but the five stars for enjoyment reflect the number of clues that made me smile.
If Helen is reading this, I did try to write to you last week but my email was returned as undeliverable so I answered your question in the Hints post.
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, 25th December (or thereabouts!).
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Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 26116 – Hints
Big Dave’s Saturday Crossword Club
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ****
A number of you said that you didn’t like having too many four-letter words in a puzzle – well Cephas has delivered on his promise and the shortest answer today is six letters. The result is one of the best Saturday Prize puzzles for quite a while. Remember that most of the recent puzzles from this setter have been pangrams – that is all 26 letters of the alphabet are used – as this may help you with the final few answers.
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, 24th December.
Continue reading “DT 26116 – Hints”
Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 2514
A full analysis by Peter Biddlecombe
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BD Rating – Difficulty **** – Enjoyment *****
Apologies for posting late – got too involved in the live webchat and blog discussions of today’s Times puzzle.
This was a slow puzzle for me, as all the answers I found difficult were in the same corner – 4A, 13A, 6D, 8D. Solving these took about 4/3 of the time needed for the rest of the puzzle.
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Snowing on the Blog
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Rishi has reported that the snow effect can cause problems with some browsers. If it is causing any difficulties, it can be turned off – please let me know.
Toughie No 271 by Myops
So this is what an obstacle course feels like
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BD Rating – Difficulty ***** – Enjoyment ****
Yes, I’m giving this five stars for a difficulty that comes partly from very clever and oblique wordplay and partly from some devilish obscurities that should have even experienced solvers ransacking their dictionaries. I’ve given four stars for enjoyment mainly because I appreciate a tough challenge, but I suspect there will be a few who found the whole thing a bit much even for a Friday.
Some of the clue-writing here is just awesome; while there may be no laugh-out-loud clues by way of surface readings, there are some epically imaginative constructions spiced with a great deal of originality.
This is a puzzle which on occasion pushes the boundaries and, for me, there are a handful of clues whose fairness is debatable.
So in addition to the usual blue for favourite clues I’ve used red to indicate those where I thought the solver was being tested a bit unfairly.
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 26115
Hints and tips by Gazza
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ****
Another Friday and another treat from Giovanni – how does he manage to produce the goods time after time?
For new readers – if you actually need to see an answer they are hidden inside the curly brackets under each clue, to prevent your seeing them accidentally. Just highlight the white space inside the brackets to reveal the answer.
We love getting your comments, so please keep them coming.
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Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 26110
A full analysis by Big Dave
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ***
One of the better Saturday puzzles, but still among the easiest of the week. As has been the case for several previous weeks, this one is pangrammatic – that means it contains all 26 letters of the alphabet.
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Toughie No 270 by Messinae
It’s Four In The Morning and….
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ***
Yes, it’s four a.m. and have just realised I have a day of messy hospital appointments ahead of me (Curse that perpetual calendar I bought from a man with a nice line in pattter!), so I’d better get today’s Toughie sorted out. I quite liked this puzzle and it contained a fair challenge with a few good clues, though I felt the four-letter answers were rather weak double definitions. There is also a serious spelling mistake in the last across clue.
Let me know your thoughts, and don’t forget to rate the puzzle with the star system at the end of the blog.
Assuming the doctor remembers into which end of me to insert his probe, I shall be back later with the review of last Saturday’s puzzle.
Continue reading “Toughie 270”
Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 26114
Hints and tips by Libellule
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ***
A bit trickier today than last weeks.. how many of you put the wrong answer in for 1a? I only knew I had made a mistake when I was entering the crossword on CluedUp. On another note how many of you thought 21a was a good clue or a bad clue?
The answers as usual can be found hidden between the curly brackets. Comments appreciated.
Continue reading “DT 26114”