February 2013 – Big Dave's Crossword Blog

Toughie 936

Toughie No 936 by Kcit

Hints and tips by Bufo

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BD Rating – Difficulty **Enjoyment ***

I’m into recycling and so today I’m just going to recycle some of my comments about previous Kcit Toughies: “Yet another gentle puzzle from Kcit”; “Another gentle puzzle of the standard we have come to expect from Kcit”; “Another fairly straightforward puzzle from Kcit which is on the easy side for a Toughie”; “A pleasant enough puzzle but somewhat on the easy side for a Toughie”; “Another pleasant offering from Kcit which didn’t cause too many problems”; “You always know what you’re going to get with Kcit. Yet another fairly gentle puzzle”; “A typical puzzle from Kcit, perfectly fair and nothing very obscure”; “Another gentle puzzle from Kcit which should not have caused many problems”; “A run-of-the-mill puzzle which was pleasant enough to solve but not very taxing on the brain”; “I had no problems at all with this one. I solved it without breaking sweat and could understand all the clues without difficulty”; “I enjoyed this Kcit puzzle. It wasn’t too difficult, it contained nothing too obscure, and I couldn’t find anything to complain about”

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DT 27113

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 27113

Hints and tips by pommers

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

Hola from a rather dank and dismal Vega Baja.  The rain in Spain appears to fall mainly here!

I don’t think this is a Toughie that got into the wrong envelope but I have seen easier Toughies. I found it the trickiest back-pager for quite some time, but quite enjoyable once some of the pennies started to drop. I’m not going to guess who the setter is but suffice it to say that things started getting a little easier when I donned my “slightly mad hat”!

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ST 2679

Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 2679

A full review by gnomethang

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BD Rating – Difficulty **Enjoyment ****

Morning All!. A typical Virgilius puzzle from Sunday 17th February with some lovely surface readings and all the usual trademarks.

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Toughie 935

Toughie No 935 by Micawber

Hairy Biker

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

I sometimes think that I must have been a paragon of virtue in a former existence because I’m rewarded with more than my fair share of Micawber’s puzzles to blog. This one provided the usual 5-star enjoyment  and it did take me longer than usual, although having finished it I couldn’t really see why (which, as someone remarked the other day, is the sign of a very good puzzle). I hadn’t come across the sheep in 26a before.
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DT 27112

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 27112

Hints and tips by scchua

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BD Rating – Difficulty **Enjoyment ***

Another enjoyable puzzle from Jay, though not difficult. A 2-2.5* in difficulty, and 3* for enjoyment. Thanks Jay.

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DT 27111

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 27111

Hints and tips by Deep Threat

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

Good morning from South Staffs where it’s cold, grey and drizzly.  Roll on Spring!

A straightforward puzzle today, and it’s a pangram.

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DT 27110

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 27110

Hints and tips by Libellule

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BD Rating – Difficulty *** Enjoyment ***

This seemed to be a little trickier than normal, hence the three stars for difficulty. But even so, this is an entertaining crossword from the Monday maestro that helped brighten up a damp and snowy morning south of the Loire.

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