Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 26225
Hints and tips by Gazza
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BD Rating – Difficulty ***– Enjoyment ****
We have another very entertaining Ray T puzzle today. Apart from the very strange coincidence of 20a (which is obviously not down to the setter, and which I’m sure we’ll hear more of) there are a number of really entertaining clues. For those who can never get started on Ray’s puzzles (Good morning, Barrie) could I suggest that some easier clues to get into the puzzle are 10a, 15a, 24a and 4d.
As always we’re very keen to get your thoughts and opinions, so please keep the comments coming.
The answer to each clue is concealed between the curly brackets beneath it – just drag your cursor through the white space between the brackets if you want to reveal the solution.
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Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 26224
Hints and tips by Libellule
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BD Rating – Difficulty ***– Enjoyment ***
Another not overly complex crossword from Rufus today, with the usual smooth cluing and sprinkling of generally amusing double and cryptic definitions. Favourite clue – probably 5d. Was it me or did anybody else think this crossword was a bit “cornery”?
If you need to see the full answer just highlight the space between the curly brackets.
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Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 2533 – Hints
Hints and tips by Big Dave
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A few hints to get you started.
Please 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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52.254523-2.266838
NTSPP – 011 Review
A Puzzle by Anax
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Anax promised us a gentle stroll through a cryptic crossword. This was the case. In style, it was firmly within the Daily Telegraph crossword tradition and should be approachable for all levels of ability.
Unusually for an Anax crossword, there were a few clues that I thought were a little on the weak side. I have highlighted these below.
The answers to the clues are contained within the squiggly brackets and if you highlight the space with your mouse, all will be revealed. Feel free to have your say after the blog, and you can rate the puzzle by clicking the stars as well.
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51.430751-0.548153
Not the Saturday Prize Puzzle – 011
A Puzzle by Anax
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Welcome to the eleventh in our series of weekly puzzles.
Anax makes his first appearance after his debut in the FT this week. Three down and two to go!
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53.408488-2.149293
Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 26223 – Hints
Big Dave’s Saturday Crossword Club
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Some 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, 29th April.
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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.
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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.
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Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 26217
A full analysis by Big Dave
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ***
The usual mix of good and not-so-good, but continuing the steady improvement.
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