NTSPP – 021 (Review)
A puzzle by Biddle
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
Welcome to Peter Biddlecombe as the lastest in a long line of professional setters. With his recent debut in the Church Times, he joins the ranks of Anax, Tim Moorey and Bufo as those who have had their crosswords appear in print and who have appeared in the Not The Saturday Prize Puzzle series. I hope that this will be the first of many from Biddle on the site.
This was a themed crossword based on the recent epic 11 hour match at Wimbledon. For someone who is not a follower of tennis, I needed to research some of the older players! Because of the theme and the need to work some complex names into the wordplay, some of the clues were not as smooth as I might have liked but this did not detract from a fine puzzle. There are a few minor comments that I have made in the notes below.
Continue reading “NTSPP – 021 (Review)”
Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 2543 (Hints)
Hints and tips by Big Dave
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
It shouldn’t take long to spot today’s theme! As is usual for the weekend prize crosswords, I will select a few of the better clues and provide hints for them.
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.
Peter Biddlecombe’s full review of this puzzle will be published at 12.00 on Friday, 9th July.
Continue reading “ST 2543 (Hints)”
Not the Saturday Prize Puzzle – 021
A Puzzle by Biddle
+– + – + – + – + – + – + – + – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
Welcome to the twenty first in our series of weekly puzzles.
This week Biddle (regular contributor Peter Biddlecombe) has provided a puzzle with a topical theme – his first for the site .
Continue reading “NTSPP – 021 (Comments)”
Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 26283 (Hints)
Big Dave’s Saturday Crossword Club
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
This afternoon I will be in the White Horse, Parson’s Green until about 7:00pm. All are welcome, and you could meet up with some of your favourite setters and bloggers.
As is usual for the weekend prize crosswords, I will select a few of the better clues and provide hints for them.
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.
A full review of this puzzle will be published on Thursday, 8th July.
Continue reading “DT 26283 (Hints)”
Toughie No 382 by Elgar
An eruption of pleasure
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ****
The sight of all those 1ac references in (mostly) the down clues made me concentrate on that clue first. I couldn’t see the answer immediately but the enumeration was helpful, so I moved on to the first reference at 11a, trying to find 9-letter anagrams including the letters of BRISTOL. Of those I found, one seemed very likely as fitting a theme (it also matched the wordplay) and that made 1a much easier. Identifying the theme was by no means a guarantee of an easy ride and there were quite a few tough clues to crack, but the first run-through elicited 14 answers and the only real headaches beyond that were awkwardly spelt (or, for me, unknown) members of the theme set.
This was good entertainment as ever from Elgar, perhaps without the usual degree of naughtiness and LOL moments, but the enjoyment factor was kept aloft by a number of witty definitions and wordplay indicators. My favourite clues are highlighted in blue.
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.
[Today I am trying out a new idea – if you hover over a clue the background changes to grey and you should be able to see the answer. Let me know what you think – particularly if you are using an iPhone or similar. BD]
Continue reading “Toughie 382”
Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 2542
A full analysis by Peter Biddlecombe
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ****
Back to the routine format for this report. The content of the grid is not routine – I can’t see any significant presence of those old favourite crossword grid visitors. And the clues are … you know what I’m going to say.
One other thing: The first puzzle of mine (edited by Don Manley) to appear in real print is in this week’s Church Times. For one week you can see it in their online version here. To print from this page with a complete grid image, copy/paste the heading, grid and clues to Microsoft Word or similar. Or print pages 2-4 in landscape if you want a quicker way. [I haven’t checked what happens in browsers other than Firefox – it might print fine as it is in Internet Explorer]
Continue reading “ST 2542”
Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 26282
Hints and tips by Gazza
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
BD Rating – Difficulty **** – Enjoyment ***
We have a typical Giovanni today with a good mixture of clues. It took me longer to solve than an average Giovanni, but looking back on it, I couldn’t really see why because, as always, his clues are very fair. Let us know what you thought of it in a comment.
For those who are still baffled after reading the hints, the answers are concealed between the brackets under the clues. Highlight the white space between the brackets to reveal.
[Today I am trying out a new idea – if you hover over a clue the background changes to grey and you should be able to see the answer. Let me know what you think – particularly if you are using an iPhone or similar. BD]
Continue reading “DT 26282”
Toughie No 381 by Shamus
Hints and tips by Bufo
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ***
For the second week running I get a pleasant, non-controversial puzzle. This pangrammatic puzzle is very good. There was nothing I needed to check in the dictionary and I could understand all the wordplay without difficulty. I’m beginning to look forward to my next “stinker” when I’ll be able to have a good moan.
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.
Continue reading “Toughie 381”
Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 26277
A full review by Gnomethang
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ***
Afternoon All! We had a puzzle that, judging from many of the comments, was reasonably straightforward but nonetheless enjoyable and had some very good clues. I have tried to address some of the discussions in last Saturday’s blog where some words could not be mentioned!
Continue reading “DT 26277”
Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 26281
Hints and tips by Big Dave
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ***
It’s mystery setter day again! Quite a good one today, with a few clues that had me scratching my head (but not for long, so only three stars for difficulty).
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.
Continue reading “DT 26281”