Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 2532
A full analysis by Peter Biddlecombe
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment *****
Reporting duties remembered on-time this week, for this relatively tricky one. Along with the sheer class that’s so consistent in these puzzles that I don’t always mention it, there’s something quite unusual about this puzzle – did you notice it? As usual I’m writing before I look at the comments made on the day, so I don’t know whether anyone did.
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Toughie No 342 by Elgar
Little ****
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BD Rating – Difficulty **** – Enjoyment ****
I chose to tackle this over breakfast at a nearby Little Chef. It can be said that ideal conditions for tackling an Elgar are a pleasant, airy environment with perhaps a plateful of good food and cafetière of refreshing coffee to provide those “set it aside for a moment” opportunities. That didn’t stop me from going to the Little Chef though.
And, frankly, it didn’t help as I found this puzzle a bit of a monster in places. Predictably, I’m starting this write-up with no understanding of some of the wordplay constructs, and (since the fingers are currently busy) legs are crossed that those little lights will dawn as I write.
Favourite clues are in blue, as usual.
Please leave comments on the puzzle. Reviewers like a bit of feedback, but setters (who do drop by frequently) depend on it to know how their puzzles are being received. You can also add your assessment by selecting from one to five stars at the bottom of the post.
Continue reading “Toughie 342”
53.408488-2.149293
Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 26222
Hints and tips by Gnomethang
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ***
[Today we have a new blogger joining the team. I know you will all recognise him from his proliferation of comments – well now the poacher has turned gamekeeper. Gnomethang will only be able to participate from time to time, but if his first post is anything to go by let’s hope it is a frequent occurrence. Thanks also to Gazza for stepping aside today to make this possible. BD]
Morning All! First of all I must say a big thank you to Big Dave and Gazza for giving me the opportunity to guest this DT review. It has been fun to do and makes you think about every clue.
Now on to the puzzle: As usual from Giovanni we have a series of smooth and fair clues with good definitions and some very nice surface reading. As with the last two weeks I think that these have been from the more gentle side of Giovanni (I am comparing with a few from the beginning of the year) and I was wavering between two and three stars for difficulty but do please let us know what you thought.
You can also add your assessment by selecting from one to five stars at the bottom of the post. Don’t forget that you can read the answers by highlighting between the curly brackets.
Continue reading “DT 26222”
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