Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 29150 (Hints)
The Saturday Crossword Club
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Today there is good news and bad news. The good news is that, as well as a new MPP, we have a superb NTSPP to celebrate the 500th puzzle in the series – this puzzle has been put together by Prolixic with the help of 27 other setters, many of whom have been published in the National press. The bad news, well I’ll leave you to work that one out!
As is usual for the weekend prize crosswords, an assortment of clues, including some of the more difficult ones, have been selected and hints provided for them.
Continue reading “DT 29150 (Hints)”
Toughie No 2291 by Chalicea
Hints and tips by Big Dave
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment *****
I always look forward to solving a Chalicea puzzle, and this one is excellent. The last one parsed was 5d and the last one solved was the superb 15a, which makes it my favourite with the mental picture conjured up by 10a taking the runner-up podium. Continue reading “Toughie 2291”
NTSPP – 499
A Puzzle by Alchemi
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Continue reading “NTSPP – 499”
Toughie No 2287 by Silvanus
Hints and tips by Big Dave
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ****
Silvanus has, for me at least, upped the difficulty level while maintaining the enjoyment. There were several clues that caused me to dig deeper than usual, especially the deceptive 8d which was my last one. Continue reading “Toughie 2287”
Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 29138 (Hints)
The Saturday Crossword Club
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As is usual for the weekend prize crosswords, an assortment of clues, including some of the more difficult ones, have been selected and hints provided for them.
Continue reading “DT 29138 (Hints)”
Update October 23, 2019
What I hope will be the final changes to the “Big Dave 2019” theme. have been implemented There are a small number of cosmetic changes, but the big difference is in the Responsive Design – a posh way of saying that the theme adjusts according to the width of the display. While a desktop may be able to vary the size of the browser window, for other devices, such as phones and tablets, this is usually a fixed size. Continue reading “New Theme”
Toughie No 2283 by Donnybrook
Hints and tips by Big Dave
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ****
The handful of lesser-known words were clued in such a way they could be worked out then checked in Chambers. Continue reading “Toughie 2283”
Monthly Prize Puzzle 087 – Review
August 2019
Upper Case Places by Alchemi
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Alchemi’s question was “How many capital cities are there in the completed grid?” There were 14 in total. They are highlighted in the grid at the end of this review. Continue reading “MPP 087 – Review”
Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 29132 (Hints)
The Saturday Crossword Club
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As is usual for the weekend prize crosswords, an assortment of clues, including some of the more difficult ones, have been selected and hints provided for them.
Continue reading “DT 29132 (Hints)”
Toughie No 2279 by Dada
Hints and tips by Big Dave
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment **
Why do setters use words like river, author etc. as definitions where there are thousands of possible answers? For me this puzzle was spoiled by an excess of General Knowledge, hence the reduction in enjoyment rating from four to two stars. Continue reading “Toughie 2279”