Putting the words to lights – crossword clues explained in plain English
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Welcome to the forty fourth in our series of weekly puzzles.
Fresh from having his first puzzle published in the Church Times, Prolixic is back again.
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This crossword was produced by John Henderson, better known to Daily Telegraph readers as Elgar, in honour of the 7th Sloggers and Betters meeting. The meeting itself celebrated the fifth anniversary of Peter Biddlecombe’s Times for the Times crossword blog. In attendance from the far side of the world was one of the bloggers – Uncle Yap – who gets a mention in one of the clues.
You do need to know a little of the solvers and setters world to understand some of the clues. I have added some background information below. There is also a NINA around the perimeter of the grid that spells out {BLOGGER / SETTER / SLOGGER / BETTER}.
Continue reading “NTSPP – 043 (Review)”
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Those not familiar with Douglas Adams and his trilogy in five parts, “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” may struggle with the significance of the number of this crossword (42) and the frequent references to it in this puzzle. Although it forms the theme for this crossword, there are plenty of other excellent clues with the hallmarks of Anax’s devious wordplay, smooth surface readings and fun and frolics on the way.
No white mice were harmed in the making of this Crossword or its review!
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After so many excellent clues on DIY COW, it is good to see Gazza getting the bit between his teeth with a full blown puzzle. This is an excellent first crossword from our regular weekday blogger with only a few minor queries in the clues that probably owe more to the foibles of the reviewer than to the setter’s sterling work in producing an accessible and fun crossword. Hopefully, this will be the first of many from Gazza. Here’s to the next!
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A highly enjoyable puzzle from Bufo this week with a special message around the perimeter for Tilsit who is recovering from major surgery. For those who want to read the message it is:
{BEST WISHES FOR A SPEEDY RECOVERY}
All of us endorse the message and it is good to hear Tilsit sounding so lively on his blog.
The puzzle itself contained several new words for me though with all credit to Bufo, the more unusual words were clearly clued. A lot of the clues included charades though as these were combined with other wordplay elements, the puzzle did not feel unbalanced.
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Welcome to the thirty ninth in our series of weekly puzzles.
This week Prolixic entertains us again.
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Radler’s puzzles can be at the tough end of the spectrum. Having test solved the first draft of this puzzle; I found it easier than some of his previous crosswords, but by no means an “easy” crossword to solve. It is difficult to judge how difficult your own crosswords are. I think that Radler sometimes underestimates how difficult some of his clues are. Having said this, the final version of the crossword is a lot more approachable with a good range of clues that give an entry into the puzzle.
There are some clues in the crossword that you will not usually see in the Daily Telegraph and where different setters and solvers have diverging opinions on their usage. I have tried to indicate these fairly without judging their acceptability.
As always, you can reveal an answer by highlighting the word or words between the curly brackets. Do let us have your comments on the puzzle as well. It is always good for the setter to get feedback and acknowledgment of the hard work that has gone into creating the crossword.
Many thanks to Radler for the challenge this week.
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Welcome to the thirty sixth in our series of weekly puzzles.
This week the prolific Prolixic entertains us again.
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Welcome to the thirty third in our series of weekly puzzles.
This week Prolixic entertains us again.
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Anax plays bass guitar in a band. His musical tastes have, however, plumbed new depths in the theme to this puzzle. A number of the clues refer to words that appear in the song that is the answer to 14a/7d. Rolf Harris has a lot to answer for!