January 31, 2020 – Big Dave's Crossword Blog

Toughie 2377

Toughie No 2377 by Osmosis

Hints and tips by Big Dave

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BD Rating – Difficulty ****Enjoyment *

Dutch is away this week but should be back next Friday.

There are various ways of setting a Toughie – Elgar-like fiendishness, the use of obscure words à la Giovanni and the sheer elegance of Notabilis, to name but three. Then there is a mix of Lego-type meaningless clues which is what we have today. For most of the clues the surface reading is pure gobbledegook, which leads to a difficult-to-solve puzzle that lacks any sense of satisfaction. Continue reading “Toughie 2377”

DT 29274

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 29274

Hints and tips by Deep Threat

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

Good morning from South Staffs.

I didn’t recognise the style of today’s puzzle, so this may be a new setter.… Continue reading

DT 29269

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 29269

A full review by crypticsue

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This puzzle was published on 25th January 2020

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

I always take a smidgen longer to solve the crossword when on the train, often because there is, as was the case on Saturday morning, a fellow passenger who thought everyone in the carriage needed to hear their views on something.  … Continue reading