December 30, 2011 – Big Dave's Crossword Blog

Toughie 694

Toughie No 694 by Micawber

Looking Back

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

Today we have a very special guest blogger.  Jon88’s impeccable credentials include membership of the National Puzzlers’ League, crosswords published in the New York Times, Washington Post and Games magazine, regular solving of Times, Telegraph, Spectator and Private Eye puzzles. And I nearly forgot – he has won the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament no less than seven times.  Quite how he also finds time to work in theatre and cabaret is a mystery!  He was the assistant musical director for Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey for five years.  BD

Tilsit is off this week in a land without Internet, newspapers or television (Narnia?), but before he left, he flung the keys across the pond and appointed me the designated driver.  Micawber has given us a memorial puzzle of sorts; explanation down below.

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DT 26749

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 26749

Hints and tips by Crypticsue

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BD Rating – Difficulty **Enjoyment ***

For the third time this week, Gazza has kindly vacated the hot seat to allow one of his fellow bloggers who doesn’t normally get the chance to do an on-the-day review to have a go.   If he had his unaccustomed but well-deserved  lie in, he will have missed a superb sunrise which kept distracting me from the job in hand, the review of this very enjoyable Giovanni puzzle.

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