NTSPP – 001 Review
An Independent Puzzle by Anax
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I didn’t have much difficulty nor did I take much time with this puzzle. For me this was a ‘toughie’ in the sense that in some four or five instances the annotation didn’t come immediately upon getting the answer from all or part of wordplay. As for 1d, I had to go looking for the confirmation of the definition ‘useless’. So my engagement with the crossword extended for a while after completing the puzzle in fully interpreting the stubborn clues.
I got a toehold in the grid with 13a WAG. The first to fall was bottom-half, then top right. Top-left was the last quadrant. One or two answers such as 17a had to be revised in the course of solving. The penultimate clue was 1dn; the last one was 10a.
Very well-crafted clues giving the utmost satisfaction to the solver.
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Not the Saturday Prize Puzzle – 001
An Independent Puzzle by Anax
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The first in a series of puzzles for anyone who finds that the Saturday Telegraph Prize puzzle leaves them wanting something more challenging.
We mentioned on Saturday, 30th January that Anax was the setter for that day’s prize puzzle in the Independent (#7267). Now that the closing date for entries to the competition has passed, Mike “Eimi” Hutchinson, Crossword Editor, has kindly given permission for the puzzle to be published here.
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52.254523-2.266838
Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 26163 – Hints
Big Dave’s Saturday Crossword Club
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment **
The return of the pangram! In order to get every letter of the alphabet into this puzzle, there are a few awkward words. A setter that I spoke to last Saturday said that in a proper pangram all 26 letters should be checked – here J, Q, V, X and Z are all unchecked.
If this one isn’t enough for you, then have a go at our alternative puzzle, which is available at midday.
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, 18th February.
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