Putting the words to lights – crossword clues explained in plain English
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BD Rating – Difficulty * Enjoyment ****
Good morning everyone, and welcome to the midweek back-pager blog. I found today’s puzzle to be reasonably friendly for a Wednesday. Amongst my favourites were 26a, 6d and 9d, but my clue of the day goes to the potty-mouthed Swedes in 4a. Many thanks to our setter.
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BD Rating – Difficulty **/*** Enjoyment ****
Good morning everyone, and welcome to the midweek back-pager blog. I found today’s puzzle to be a step up in difficulty from the previous two days, with some general knowledge required and one or two rather obscure words, but everything is fairly clued. Amongst my favourites today are 22a, 25a, 26a, 2d and 24d, but the clue I liked best was 1a, for its brevity and very clever misdirection. There is also a superb Quickie pun. Many thanks to our setter for a thoroughly enjoyable workout.
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** Enjoyment ****
Good morning everyone, and welcome to the midweek back-pager blog. I found today’s crossword to be about the same level of difficulty as the previous two days’ puzzles, with plenty to admire and appreciate. I particularly liked 11a, 2d and 12d, but my clue of the day is 4d, as it mentions the lead singer in one of my favourite bands. I also enjoyed the Quickie pun, once the penny dropped. Many thanks to our setter.
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BD Rating – Difficulty ***/**** Enjoyment ****
Good morning everyone, and welcome to the midweek back-pager blog. I found today’s crossword to be quite tricky – it took me longer than the previous two days’ puzzles put together. However, I expect many of you will say that you sailed through this one with no problems at all! Today we have a pangram for which a fair amount of general knowledge is needed, but everything is fairly clued. I especially liked 5d, 7d and 18d, but my favourite today is 14a.
Many thanks to our setter: I’m going to take a punt on Hudson, who I know is fond of ursine national treasures such as 1a, as well as the legendary singer whose first name appears in 2d.
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** Enjoyment ****
Good morning everyone, and welcome to the midweek back-pager blog. I found today’s crossword to be a step up in difficulty from the last two days. I thought it was a cracking puzzle, with plenty of wit and misdirection. Amongst my favourite clues today were 11a, 26a and 9d, but first place goes to 19d, for making me laugh out loud when the penny dropped. Many thanks to our setter.
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BD Rating – Difficulty * Enjoyment ****
Good morning everyone, and welcome to the midweek back-pager blog. I must have been on the compiler’s wavelength this morning, because I found today’s puzzle to be fairly gentle for a Wednesday. Amongst a plethora of excellent clues today, my favourites were 1a, 3d and 11d. Many thanks to our setter.
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** Enjoyment ***
Good morning everyone, and welcome to the Wednesday back-pager blog. For me, today’s crossword was the hardest of the week so far, with the SE corner the last to fall – for some reason it took me a while to parse 21d and 26a. Amongst my favourite clues today are 10a, 14a, and the aforementioned 21d and 26a once the penny had dropped, but I’m going for 1a as my clue of the day. Many thanks to our setter.
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** Enjoyment ****
Good morning everyone, and welcome to the Wednesday back-pager blog. Huge thanks to Gazza for standing in for me last week whilst I was away. Maybe I’m still in holiday mode, or perhaps it was due to lack of sleep after last night’s tropical heat here in Hampshire, but I found today’s puzzle to be the hardest of the week so far. Once again we have an excellent crossword with plenty to enjoy and admire. Amongst my favourites are 11a, 12a, 26a and 14d, but my pick of the clues today is the clumsy cleric in 13a. I also liked the groan-worthy Quickie pun. Many thanks to our setter.
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BD Rating – Difficulty * Enjoyment ****
Good morning everyone, and welcome to the Wednesday back-pager blog. I must have tuned into the setter’s wavelength fairly quickly this morning, because I found today’s puzzle to be quite gentle for a Wednesday. (I even had time to complete today’s Toughie, which is well worth having a go at.) At one point I thought this was going to be a pangram, but I think it’s three letters short. Amongst some excellent concise and witty clues, my favourites were the angry Americans in 13a, the suspect material in 17a, and the plus-sized old flame in 4d. I also liked the Quickie pun. Many thanks to our setter.
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BD Rating – Difficulty ***/**** Enjoyment ****
Good morning everyone, and welcome to the Wednesday back-pager blog. I found today’s puzzle to be quite tricky – a midweek mind-mangler – but it was a very satisfying solve. Amongst a plethora of excellent clues, my podium picks are 20a, 23a, 27d and my favourite, the weary threesome in 16a. I also enjoyed the Quickie pun. Many thanks to our setter.