July 12, 2012 – Big Dave's Crossword Blog

Toughie 805

Toughie No 805 by Petitjean

(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction

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

Actually I found it quite satisfying to finish though I still haven’t decided whether I enjoyed it or not. I thought I might find the puzzle on the easy side because I instantly made the connection between it and an item I’d heard on this morning’s Today programme. But despite knowing the theme I still found it a struggle and I felt quite exhausted by the time I’d finished it. I then came across an article on page 3 of the Daily Mail which improved my understanding of some of the answers.

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DT 26916

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 26916

Hints and tips by Big Dave

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BD Rating – Difficulty **Enjoyment ***

One of the easier Thursday puzzles. This one has lots of fragments in the wordplay which, for me, narrows it down to a setter more usually seen on Tuesdays. What do you think?

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ST 2646

Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 2646

A full review by gnomethang

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BD Rating – Difficulty **Enjoyment ***

Morning All!. This is the review of ST 2646 from Sunday 1st July. Once again Mr Brian Greer as given us a class high quality puzzle with some great surface readings and two trademark hidden words. Sorry for being a bit brief in the review – I have a bit to sort out before a day off playing golf on Friday. I’ll just nudge you in the direction of 17d – an &Lit (all in one) that was probably overlooked but is an absolutely top notch clue.

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