Toughie No 553 by Warbler
Heads you win…
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ***
Bufo is in transit today so BD kindly offered me the chance to blog today’s Toughie. Little did I know that I would have a nice gentle Warbler crossword to review. Her crosswords are always fair and usually at the easier end of the spectrum of the Toughies. Today’s is one of her easier crosswords but none the less enjoyable. My only minor criticism is that there is a heavy reliance on using the first / last / middle letters of a word as part of the solution. However as I am a man of “superb taste” I hope that Warbler will forgive me!
I have highlighted my favourite clues in blue. I am on spring cleaning duty today so will be back later to add some pictures and look at any feedback.
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Not the Saturday Prize Puzzle – 063
A Puzzle by Prolixic
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Welcome to the latest in our series of weekly puzzles.
This week we have another fine puzzle from Prolixic.
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Not the Saturday Prize Puzzle – 062
… and nonsense by Radler
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When Gazza refers to a puzzle being the most difficult yet, you know you are in for a challenging solve. I am glad that I had the opportunity to test solve this crossword for Radler as the review may otherwise have been long delayed. This crossword does contain all of the Radler hallmarks of some complicated and intricate wordplay (for example see 23a) but these are balanced by some more straightforward ones (such as 26a) – half the difficultly is spotting the simple ones!
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NTSPP – 061 by Bufo
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Bufo makes a welcome return to the NTSPP series with an excellent crossword with lots to enjoy and some more unusual words to ferret out. Many thanks to Bufo for the entertainment.
I have highlighted my favourite clues in blue.
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Not the Saturday Prize Puzzle – 060
A Puzzle by Prolixic
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Welcome to the latest in our series of weekly puzzles.
This week we have the latest puzzle from Prolixic.
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Not the Saturday Prize Puzzle – 059
Epics by Retiarius
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A warm welcome to our latest Saturday Setter. A blogger blogging a blogger turned setter needs to be careful in what he says. Fortunately Retiarius has made an excellent debut with this nicely themed crossword so there is no need to sharpen the pencil.
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Not the Saturday Prize Puzzle – 058
A puzzle by Radler
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Welcome back to Radler with another of his tricky but rewarding puzzles. I found this one took longer to solve than normal. In part this was because the device of having a central isolated grid meant that the grid was cornery and meant it was more difficult to get cross-checking letters.
Radler’s puzzles are at the more difficult end of the NTSPP spectrum. Although there is come complex wordplay in the clues, looking through them, there are some straightforward ones as well. Maybe one of the reasons that they are more difficult to solve is that you are never quite sure which is a straightforward clue and which is a complex one!
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Not the Saturday Prize Puzzle – 057
A puzzle by Qix
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Many thanks to Qix for entertaining us with a fine crossword. As Big Dave mentioned in his introduction, this was of back page difficulty though there were a couple of clues where the wordplay was a little more complicated and more into Toughie territory. There is one clue, 4d, where I am a little dubious about the wordplay but it did not detract from an enjoyable challenge.
I have highlighted my favourite clues in blue. Let us know your comments and favourites.
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Not the Saturday Prize Puzzle – 056
A Puzzle by Prolixic
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Welcome to the latest in our series of weekly puzzles.
A speedy return for Prolixic – one or two tricky clues but a puzzle that’s well worth the effort.
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Not The Saturday Prize Puzzle – 055 (Review)
“Hearsay” by Radler
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Lots of hearsay and homophones in this lovely puzzle from Radler. I twigged the theme early on in the solving process which may have helped with some of the clues. Overall, I found this one of the more accessible Radler crosswords.
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