September 7, 2011 – Big Dave's Crossword Blog

Toughie 628

Toughie No 628 by Notabilis

Articulate Rambo

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BD Rating – Difficulty **Enjoyment ****

I’ve stopped trying to submit puzzles on the website except when I’m blogging (because I’m fed up with getting “Error 0”), but it’s just as well I did this morning because my answer to 25d was rejected – see below.
Apart from that we have a not too taxing but entertaining puzzle from Notabilis. It seems to be the rule now that when setters like Micawber and Notabilis appear mid-week their puzzles are quite a bit gentler than when they turn up on Fridays.
Notabilis usually manages to smuggle something extra into his puzzles just to keep us on our toes and today there are four sets of linked answers (13/14a, 22/23a, 3/15d and 16/26d). If there’s anything else, I’ve failed to spot it.
Give us a comment letting us know how you got on and please take the time to click on one of the stars below to register your level of enjoyment.

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DT 26651

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 26651

Hints and tips by Falcon

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BD Rating – Difficulty **Enjoyment ***

Fortunately, this puzzle is not overly difficult as I was working “without a net” today. Problems with the DT web site caused major headaches (and no doubt loss of sleep) for Big Dave who was able to ship the puzzle across the Atlantic but not the completed grid. I find this to be a typical Jay puzzle, one that leans a bit toward the easier end of the scale.

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