Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 27207
Hints and tips by Deep Threat
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ***
Good morning from South Staffs, on a dry but cloudy morning.
I gave this puzzle *** for difficulty because I struggled with a couple of clues, notably 1d, which was the last in because I simply couldn’t parse it at first. The penny finally dropped when I realised that the construction was similar to 6d in yesterday’s Cryptic (which I struggled with until I read Libellule Gazza’s explanation).
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Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 27201
Hints and tips by Deep Threat
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ***
Good morning from South Staffs where it’s a grey and drizzly start to the day – brings back memories of my recent trip to Burgundy!
I gave this puzzle ** for difficulty, though it was at the upper end of that category as far as I was concerned.
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Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 27195
Hints and tips by Deep Threat
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ***
Bonjour from La Bien Assise at Guines, near Calais. Tudor historians among you will recognise the town as the site of the Field of the Cloth of Gold in 1520. Still not very warm, but at least it’s not raining and we don’t have to go paddling when we leave our caravan.
I’ve not had regular daily access to the crosswords while I’ve been away, which may account for a certain rustiness when I came to do this one, tipping it into *** territory when the last two or three clues held me up. 9d was last in.
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Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 27189
Hints and tips by Deep Threat
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BD Rating – Difficulty **/*** – Enjoyment ***
Bonjour from Lac de Panthier in Burgundy. We’ve been here since last Thursday, and apart from the nice day which Libellule commented on yesterday the weather has been pretty vile – cold and wet.
I found this crossword to be right on the border between ** and *** for difficulty, despite a couple of clues where being in France brought the answer to mind swiftly.
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Toughie No 982 by Excalibur
Something to get your teeth into?
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ***
Good afternoon from South Staffs, although by the time this is published I expect to be well towards a stop-off in Kent, en route to France.
This being my first go at blogging a Toughie, I’m short of reference points for the difficulty – I don’t usually look at how long a Toughie takes me. But on the basis that this one took about twice the time I would take for a ** back pager, I think ** is reasonable.
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Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 27177
Hints and tips by Deep Threat
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ***
Good morning from South Staffs, where it’s bright but chilly this morning, with lots of rain forecast for later. Did you enjoy the summer we had over the Bank Holiday weekend?
I found this comfortably inside ** time, with only a couple of clues which gave pause for thought.
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Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 27171
Hints and tips by Deep Threat
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ****
Good morning from South Staffs on a bright sunny morning.
Just back from a pleasant weekend in deepest Wiltshire (or Wadworthshire, as the local hostelries would have it). A ** crossword for me, though a couple of less frequently used words may complicate matters.
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Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 27165
Hints and tips by Deep Threat
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BD Rating – Difficulty * – Enjoyment ***
Good morning from South Staffs where it’s a bright sunny morning, though if the last few days are any guide, it will cloud up later.
A gentle puzzle today which I rattled through in * time. I counted 11 answers which are anagrams or part anagrams, which is quite a lot in 32 clues.
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Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 27159
Hints and tips by Deep Threat
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ***
Good morning from South Staffs on a beautiful sunny morning, where catching up on the gardening awaits when blogging duties are done. Happy St George’s Day to you all.
I found this a reasonably gentle puzzle, with the added bonus of a pangram (and the Quick Crossword is a pangram, too).
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Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 27153
Hints and tips by Deep Threat
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ***
Good morning from South Staffs where it’s about 10 degrees warmer than a week ago. Has Spring finally arrived?
** time for me this week, though 3d is a word which was familiar to me as a technical term when I was at work, and may be less recognisable for others.
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