Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 2528
A full analysis by Peter Biddlecombe
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ****
This puzzle has a grid that looked a bit scruffy but grew on me after I looked harder – every word length from 4 to 12 is included, and 11, 12 and 13-letter words can easily be under-used, so 3 of these is a good feature. And of course someone who contributed to the Times puzzle’s exemplary set of grids is not going to give us one with isolated sections or under-checked words. Quite a tricky puzzle by Sunday standards, taking me about as long as an average Times cryptic.
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Toughie No 326 by Myops
Identity Crikey
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BD Rating – Difficulty **** – Enjoyment ****
A quick glance over the clues, and this puzzle seemed to have Elgar written all over it, albeit without the linked answers and smattering of numerical grid references. On solving, many clues had that close-to-the-edge risk factor to convince me even more. And it turns out I was completely wrong. What an aficionado I am.
So, you might think I enjoyed this, and (unlike a Jeremy Clarkson sentence starting with those same words) you’d be right. There’s lovely, imaginative stuff all over the place, coupled with some real challenges that took a lot of unravelling.
The clues that made my flag flutter are shown in blue – do yours match?
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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53.408488-2.149293
Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 26198
Hints and tips by Gazza
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BD Rating – Difficulty **** – Enjoyment ****
We have a fairly tough challenge from Giovanni today (with three words which were new to me) but all clued in his usual, impeccably fair way. Let us know your thoughts on the puzzle by sending a comment, and please remember to grade the puzzle on how much you enjoyed it by clicking on one of the stars below.
The answers are in the review, but hidden so that you don’t see them by accident. To see one, drag your cursor through the white space between the brackets under the relevant clue.
Continue reading “DT 26198”