October 14, 2011 – Big Dave's Crossword Blog

Day: 14 October 2011

Toughie 650

by bufo  

Toughie No 650 by Firefly

Hints and tips by Bufo

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BD Rating – Difficulty **** – Enjoyment ****

I appear to have been the main beneficiary of Tilsit’s hospital appointment in that I get to blog today’s enjoyable and challenging puzzle rather than yesterday’s offering which was just about the easiest Toughie I have ever done. The main challenge in today’s puzzle arose from a number of unfamiliar answers. Fortunately they were all easily deducible from the wordplay (with the possible exception of ancient Iraq and the avian projections). Apologies for the slight delay in posting this blog but I’ve just had a hard morning playing table tennis.

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ST 2609

by crypticsue  

Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 2609

A full review by Crypticsue

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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ***

Another splendid start to Sunday from Virgilius – I had a bit of a mental block with 12a but once I had worked it out, thought it should join my list of favourite clues, all highlighted  in blue.

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DT 26683

by Gazza  

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 26683

Hints and tips by Gazza

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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ****

This is typical Giovanni puzzle with very precise clueing and smooth surfaces. It’s hard enough to make you think (but not as much of a stretch as yesterday’s). Let us know how you got on in a comment.
My good wishes for the Welsh rugby team obviously did the trick last week so let’s hope for more of the same tomorrow morning so that we reach the final (wouldn’t that be worth celebrating!). Here’s something stirring to get you in the mood for the big match:

ARVE Error: need id and provider
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DT 26678

by gnomethang  

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 26678

Hints and tips by gnomethang

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BD Rating –Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ***

Morning All! We had a pleasant challenge from Cephas this week. Not too taxing but a few good charades and a couple of amusing definitions. 27a and 15d were favourite for me this week.

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