Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 25852
Selected hints
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment **
As with last Saturday’s puzzle, there is nothing here to trouble the moderately experienced solver. For the weekend prize crosswords I will select a few of the better clues and provide hints for them. A full analysis of this puzzle, prepared by Peter Biddlecombe, will be available at 12.00 next Thursday, February 19th. Peter was Times crossword champion in 2000 and 2007 and is a pioneer in crossword blogging (see Times for the Times).
Continue reading “DT Cryptic No 25852 – Hints”
Toughie No 95 by Messinae
A really enjoyable puzzle with some literary allusions
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment *****
I found myself appreciating this puzzle even more as I prepared the hints – there are references to three classic books, and a nursery rhyme. While not trivially easy, this is a well constructed puzzle which is well worth the effort taken to solve. Don’t forget the highlighted items give supplementary information and, usually, the answer.
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Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 2470 – Review
A full analysis by Big Dave
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BD Rating – Difficulty **** – Enjoyment ****
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See also the original posting for ST Cryptic No 2470 – Hints
Continue reading “ST Cryptic No 2470 – Review”
Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 25846 – Review
A full analysis by Big Dave
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment *
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See also the original posting for DT Cryptic No 25846
Continue reading “DT Cryptic No 25846 – Review”
Toughie No 94 by MynoT
A moderately hard, but interesting puzzle
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ***
There are a few lesser known words in this puzzle, but overall it’s not too bad. Don’t forget that clicking on the links will reveal items of interest, and often the answer!
Continue reading “Toughie No 94”
Toughie No 93 by Jed
A nice easy-going puzzle
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ***
You may have noticed yesterday that I made a complete hash of the wordplay for 23 down, although I did say that I was open to better interpretations. Well, someone did post a far better interpretation, and it was two hours before I tumbled that we had been privileged to receive a fleeting visit from Firefly, yesterday’s setter.
If you have never tackled a Toughie before, then this one would be a good one with which to start, as there are no obscure words and the clues are straightforward – and you’ve got the hints below if you get stuck!
Continue reading “Toughie No 93”
Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 25849
A distinct improvement on the previous two Wednesdays
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ***
Some of you have been dreading Wednesday’s puzzles in recent weeks – well this one will make a pleasant change. A little harder than the last two days, but most of you should be able to cope with this one.
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Toughie No 92 by Firefly
A challenging puzzle
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BD Rating – Difficulty ***** – Enjoyment ****
I was racing through this one, with thoughts of a relatively early night, when suddenly I hit a brick wall in the bottom right hand corner. At least three out of the five difficulty stars are for this corner – see what you think.
Continue reading “Toughie No 92”
Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 25848
A similar puzzle to yesterday
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ***
Yesterday was a big day here on Big Dave’s Blog – for the first time there were over 1000 hits on the site. This was partly because it was the first daily cryptic that was covered in detail, and partly due to some excellent mentions on Times for the Times and Fifteensquared, for which I would like to thank Peter and Neil respectively. Peter also contributed to yesterday’s comments.
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Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 25847
A nice easy one to start the week
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ***
Don’t forget the highlighted words link to items of interest
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Continue reading “DT Cryptic No 25847”