Toughie No 460 by Firefly
Mounted but not Stuffed
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ***
It’s not the toughest of Toughies from Firefly today, but nor is it a walk in the park. I enjoyed it, although I do dislike 26a which is one of those clues where you can’t know the answer until you have a checking letter.
As always comments are most welcome, and please take the time to click on one of the stars below (number five if you adored it, number one if you hated it, or somewhere in-between).
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Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 26400
Hints and tips by Big Dave
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ***
Slightly harder than usual today, but another fine puzzle from Jay.
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Toughie No 459 by Cephas
The Finishing Touch!
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ***
While not difficult, this is a bit tougher than many of Cephas’s previous puzzles.
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Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 26399
Hints and tips by Gazza
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment **
I don’t know who the setter is today – the puzzle has the feel of a refugee from the wasteland that was once Thursday’s province. I’ve noticed before that the first clue you solve sets the tone for the whole puzzle – today the first answer I put in was 1a and, as far as I was concerned, the puzzle never recovered. Am I being unfair? Or am I being unduly generous in giving it two stars for enjoyment? Let me know your views in a comment!
If you want to see an answer drag your cursor through the space between the brackets under the relevant clue.
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Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 26398
Hints and tips by Libellule
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ***
Top quality stuff from the Monday Maestro. Lots of nice clues to choose as possible favourites, but 28a gets the vote from Gazza and I today.
If you cannot work out the answer from the hint, please highlight the space between the curly brackets.
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Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 2562 (Hints)
Hints and tips from Big Dave
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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 .
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Not The Saturday Prize Puzzle – 040
A puzzle by Bufo
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A highly enjoyable puzzle from Bufo this week with a special message around the perimeter for Tilsit who is recovering from major surgery. For those who want to read the message it is:
{BEST WISHES FOR A SPEEDY RECOVERY}
All of us endorse the message and it is good to hear Tilsit sounding so lively on his blog.
The puzzle itself contained several new words for me though with all credit to Bufo, the more unusual words were clearly clued. A lot of the clues included charades though as these were combined with other wordplay elements, the puzzle did not feel unbalanced.
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Not the Saturday Prize Puzzle – 040
For Tilsit from Bufo
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Welcome to the fortieth in our series of weekly puzzles.
This week Bufo has compiled a puzzle which incorporates a special message for Tilsit who is currently recovering from major surgery.
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Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 26397 (Hints)
Big Dave’s Saturday Crossword Club
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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.
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Toughie No 458 by Elgar
Expert Logophile Generates Amazing Riddles
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BD Rating – Difficulty **** – Enjoyment *****
Greetings from my recliner in the Calder Valley! Surprisingly, and contrary to most people’s expectations, I was sent home after five days! I am so grateful to everyone at Huddersfield Hospital for their care, and especially the fantastic Mr Ainslie, my surgeon, who has been simply amazing. Thank you also, to everyone from the blog for the kind wishes and thoughts.
On to today’s gem from Elgar. As usual, we are treated to a mixture of the clever and witty. For those daunted by Elgar there are a couple of nice ways to get into the puzzle today. Lots of musical references in today’s clues, which nicely mislead, and there are the usual wickedly humorous clues, such as 4 down and 26 across (methinks BD will like this!). As well as these, other favourite clues include 2down and the delicious 14 down.
The answers are hidden between the squiggly graphics written with Big Dave’s special invisible ink made from the finest Malvern Onion harvest. To reveal them, highlight the space with your mouse.
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