MPP – 098 – Big Dave's Crossword Blog
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MPP – 098

Monthly Prize Puzzle (Jul 2020)

Century by Phibs

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Why not have a go at our latest Monthly Prize Puzzle?

The winner will receive their choice of any of the Telegraph Crossword Books.

Please note that, due to punitive postal charges, while the competition is open to all, the prize is only available to UK solvers.

A review will follow after the closing date (18th Jul 2020).

The competition is now closed

The puzzle is available by clicking on the above grid.

Please read the instructions carefully.

I’ve left this post open for comments, but if you don’t want your comment to be deleted then do not provide any help for other solvers or mention any detail about the puzzle, especially references to individual clues, until after the closing date.


11 comments on “MPP – 098

  1. :phew:
    I do enjoy Phibs’ puzzles, and this one was no exception. I always find them to be a real challenge but they do yield to persistence as the clues satisfyingly fall one by one. As usual, several parsings took quite a bit of sorting out but I got there eventually.

    Now for the numbers game …

    1. All done and dusted. I found fifteen numbers quite quickly but the sixteenth remained stubbornly elusive for quite a while, as did working out the final answer.

      Very well done, Phibs, and many thanks for a very enjoyable challenge.

  2. Quite a tricky puzzle with some top clues, for example 11a, 22a, 1d, 6d, 14d, 31d.

    Unlike RD, after finding about 10 numbers reasonably quickly, it took me ages to find 6 more. I can find some changes to give me the right total, but I suspect I can do this elsewhere and still have meaningful entries in the grid, so i’m still looking.

    Many thanks Phibs, great stuff

  3. That was a real challenge.
    It has taken hours of work and overnight cogitation but at last I believe I have cracked it.
    Wheee!
    Thanks Phibs.

  4. Thought I was almost home and dry having found the 16 numbers, should have known better! Probably took almost as long again to find the missing two to score the century.
    Some really good clues along the way from which I picked out 11&12a for special mention.

    Many thanks, Phibs, another very rewarding MPP.

  5. A steady ‘plod’ in three or four sittings and then some very careful reading of the answers to find the sixteen numbers.
    I thought finding the two letters to change might take quite a while but suddenly they ‘leapt off the page.’
    Phanks Phibs for an entertaining MPP.

  6. So near, yet so far… Got 16 numbers (last of which hid in plain sight for ages), leaving 5 possibles to make up the difference, only one of which appears possible. Can’t find anywhere to put it that leaves real words however. Keep searching!

  7. Well done to Phibs for the achievement.
    Always love to unravel the definitions when it comes to his crosswords.
    This was no exception.
    18 numbers to make a century reminded me of the time you could pay your yearly income tax with small change.
    Thanks to Phibs and good luck to all the contenders.
    I shall join in just for the fun of it.

  8. One clue (answer of which I guessed had only 1 number) remained unparsed long after I had discovered and worked out the final answer that seemed easier and, at that point of time, I had 16 numbers, which included the 2 through the replaced pair. To complete a century, I was short of 18 in the 18 numbers. Undoubtedly, the discovery helped me to parse the remaining clue (answer of which manifested 1 number) to my satisfaction, trace the last (18th) number at another place in the grid hidden from my view for so long and conclude that mathematics is really ‘mathemagic’. The confirmed replaced and the replacement pairs were finally submitted. I particularly liked 22a, 31a, 2d, 4d and 8d. Concludingly, tonnes of thanks to Phibs for creating such an entertaining puzzle.

  9. I am fairly confident that I have solved the puzzle correctly … but I doubt I have picked the right two consecutive letters to be replaced.

    My final tally is far more than 100. (But less than Ben Stokes’ innings yesterday)

    Thanks, Phibs!

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