Putting the words to lights – crossword clues explained in plain English
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BD Rating – Difficulty **** – Enjoyment ***
At first glance I was put off by the diagram with its double unches (unchecked letters) and what looked like a lot of black squares. It’s definitely not one of the best grids I’ve ever seen. I found the puzzle difficult but managed it unaided in the end. There several things in the clues that I didn’t really care for but I actually quite enjoyed the challenge.
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ****
This Saturday’s offering was one with which I initially struggled but found that going from the bottom upwards made everything soon fall into place. Typing this review has confirmed my thoughts on finishing – that the mystery setter should be thanked for providing a most enjoyable crossword, a nice mix of excellent clues and very good entertainment. (Cephas posted on Sunday afternoon that he wasn’t responsible for this one as after just over 200 consecutive Saturdays, he had this week off) The only shame is that it’s a Saturday puzzle as were it one of Gazza’s days to review, he would have had a field day inserting ‘suitable’ pictures throughout, but sadly the technological complications of so doing are beyond my computer skills!
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ****
Today we have a pretty good puzzle. Can it really be Ray T two weeks running? All the signs are there – no multi-word answers in this or the Quick and all one-word clues in the Quick.
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BD Rating – Difficulty **** – Enjoyment ****
“Fits and starts” is a description of my progress with this puzzle. I started pretty well in the NW corner and then confidently wrote in “antiepileptic” for 7d, only to hit a brick wall later when I came to 18a and 23a. I eventually sorted that out and forged ahead again, but took ages for the final few answers in the NE corner. It was a very enjoyable challenge (with only two anagrams, which is a definite plus point for me).
Let us know how you liked it in a comment and please remember to vote by clicking on one of the stars below.
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ***
Our Wednesday Wizard casts his spell and the result is another fine puzzle.
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment **
Too many bitty clues for my liking, but not a bad puzzle from Warbler.
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ***
A pleasant puzzle today, with an outstanding clue at 1a. Let us know what you thought in a comment.
To see an answer just highlight the space between the brackets under the clue.
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ***
I thought this was slightly more difficult than we have seen recently, but it is still a very typical and enjoyable Monday Maestro crossword.
If you can’t work out the answer from the hint, just highlight the space within the curly brackets.
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After so many excellent clues on DIY COW, it is good to see Gazza getting the bit between his teeth with a full blown puzzle. This is an excellent first crossword from our regular weekday blogger with only a few minor queries in the clues that probably owe more to the foibles of the reviewer than to the setter’s sterling work in producing an accessible and fun crossword. Hopefully, this will be the first of many from Gazza. Here’s to the next!
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As is usual for the weekend prize crosswords, I will select a few of the better clues and provide hints for them.