March 27, 2010 – Big Dave's Crossword Blog

NTSPP – 007 Review

NTSPP – 007 Review

No, there’s no Bond theme! by Anax

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Anax says that he wanted to create a puzzle magazine crossword that they would consider a “mega-tough” cryptic puzzle. He wisely added, “we all know that what passes for mega-tough in a puzzle mag is probably on the easy side for solvers of quality daily newspaper cryptics. So here was the challenge; how advanced could I make the clues while sticking to the notion that they were to be not quite as hard as it might say on the tin?”

Personally, I found this a lot easier than Anax’s previous puzzle, NTSPP – 004. It was nonetheless enjoyable and well clued. There are a few minor comments below but this is an excellent introduction to an Anax puzzle – a lot of his playfulness, some of his hidden indicators and enjoyment all around.

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NTSPP – 007

Not the Saturday Prize Puzzle – 007

No, there’s no Bond theme! by Anax

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Welcome to the seventh in our series of weekly puzzles.  If you were wondering about the title, this is puzzle no. 007.

Anax is experimenting once more.  This one should be medium difficult, say four stars.  See if you agree.

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DT 26199 – Hints

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 26199 – Hints

Big Dave’s Saturday Crossword Club

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A few hints to get you started.

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,1st April.

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