Putting the words to lights – crossword clues explained in plain English
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Welcome to the latest in our series of puzzles, which have now been running every week for over two years.
This special puzzle has been prepared for those attending the Northern S&B meeting and it has kindly been made available to us.
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First of all, many happy returns of the day to Her Majesty the Queen, Big Dave, Libellule (a special one for the latter!) and anyone else whose birthday is today. Big Dave is celebrating his birthday at the Sloggers & Betters in Todmorden and so I am in the hot seat for the day – I would have loved to join the celebrations but West Yorkshire is just a bit too far for a day trip from Kent!
As is usual for the weekend prize crosswords, an assortment of clues, including some of the more difficult ones, have been selected and hints provided for them.
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ****
Greetings from the Calder Valley! As you are probably aware, there was a bit of a mix-up this morning with the puzzle previously inadvertently published a couple of weeks back being republished this morning on line and a different puzzle in the paper. However all is now sorted out and we have a pleasant puzzle by Ozymandias to tackle. I can confirm that our setter today is not the previously published setter that has used that name in the past.
A nice enjoyable puzzle, well suited to Friday, which kept me amused on a bus journey this morning, with a little tip of my hat to Crypticsue who helped me with a couple of stuckages. I am a bit concerned about one or two words used as anagram indicators that wouldn’t normally be so, but it’s a small point in a good puzzle.
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment *****
Afternoon All! This week we had a superbly themed puzzle by Virgilius to mark the Centenary of the sinking of the RMS Titanic. The grid was packed with thematic references in the answers and surface readings and there are other answers that are broadly nautical as well if not directly related to the disaster itself. Thematic answers and surface readings are highlighted in OLIVE
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ***
There’s a shortage of religious references today but otherwise it’s a fairly typical Giovanni puzzle (which means that the wordplay is impeccable). Let us know how you coped with it.
To reveal an answer drag your cursor through the spaces between the brackets under the clue; if you are viewing the log on a mobile device then there’s some help on how to do this in the FAQ section.
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Tomorrow sees the Northern Sloggers and Betters gathering which will be held at the Bramsche Bar in Todmorden, Rochdale Road from noon onwards. Big Dave and myself will be there along with a number of other setters and solvers. These meets are relaxed, friendly and very enjoyable. It would be great if you could come and join us. We would love to see you.
Here’s the venue: http://www.bramsche.co.uk. The bar is about 200 yards from Todmorden Rail Station and parking is just across the road or to the rear of the venue off Water Street.
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Today’s website Toughie is the puzzle that was inadvertently printed in some papers a week last Tuesday.… Continue reading
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BD Rating – Difficulty * – Enjoyment ***
A typical Prize Puzzle from the Saturday Mysteron – a straightforward solve with a nice mix of clues including one particularly straightforward clue which caused a great deal of discussion as to the accuracy of the definition therein. My favourites are highlighted in blue.
Continue reading “DT 26840”
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BD Rating – Difficulty **** – Enjoyment ****
This was trickier than I thought it was going to be. I made reasonable progress until I stalled in the NE corner and the time I spent finishing it off pushed the puzzle into the 4* difficulty level.
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BD Rating – Difficulty * – Enjoyment **
Today’s Cryptic puzzle took me less time to complete than the “Quick” crossword. Old hands should zoom through this one, recognising a number of old chestnuts along the way.