January 13, 2015 – Big Dave's Crossword Blog

Toughie 1325

Toughie No 1325 by Dada

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BD Rating - Difficulty *** - Enjoyment ***/****

A snappy and entertaining puzzle from Dada. The third star for difficulty is due to a bit of a struggle I had with the top left corner - unable to get 1,2 or 3d, I was left with only two checkers for the cheeky 10a, and it was only when the penny dropped that the rest fell in. A bit more on that clue at the bottom of the review.

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DT 27697

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 27697

Hints and tips by Gazza

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BD Rating – Difficulty ****Enjoyment **

I don’t really subscribe to the current theory on the blog that back-page puzzles have got harder since 1st January but I have to concede that this one seems to me to be above average in terms of difficulty with some quite complicated wordplay (so I’ve given it four *).… Continue reading