Gazza – Page 157 – Big Dave's Crossword Blog

Toughie No 117

Toughie No 117 by Messinae

Hints and tips by Gazza

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BD Rating – Difficulty ** Enjoyment ***

I thought that this Toughie was somewhat easier than usual. Of course these views are totally subjective, and if you think differently please let us know via a comment.

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DT Cryptic No 25884

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 25884

Today’s hints and tips by Gazza

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BD Rating – Difficulty *** Enjoyment ****

This one is not overly difficult but has some cleverly-worded clues. I found it very enjoyable.

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DT Cryptic No 25880

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 25880

Today’s hints and tips by Gazza

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BD Rating – Difficulty ** Enjoyment ***

Nothing too taxing or obscure and a few nicely-worded clues – what more could you want for a Thursday?

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Toughie No 113

Toughie No 113 by Busman

Hints and tips by Gazza

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BD Rating – Difficulty ** Enjoyment ***

As Toughies go this one is pretty easy (it’s an ideal one to start on if you’re dipping your toe in such waters for the first time; just don’t expect them all to be as easy as this!). That said, there are a few cleverly-worded and enjoyable clues amongst the easy ones, and a distinct lack of very obscure words, which is a major benefit in my opinion.

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DT Cryptic No 25878

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 25878

Today’s hints and tips by Gazza

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BD Rating – Difficulty ** Enjoyment ***

This one is a fairly typical Daily Telegraph cryptic crossword – workmanlike with nothing too complicated. As usual, the answers are hidden inside the curly brackets – select the white space inside if you’re totally stumped.

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DT Cryptic No 25874

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 25874

Today’s hints and tips by Gazza

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BD Rating – Difficulty ** Enjoyment ***

A good, honest puzzle with some clever clues. As usual, if you cannot get the answer even with the hint, select the white space inside the curly brackets to reveal it.

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Toughie No 109

Toughie No 109 by Warbler

Hints and tips by Gazza

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BD Rating – Difficulty *** Enjoyment ***

This one is not as difficult as yesterday’s. I was held up on 19d because I initially read the last word of the clue as TURN rather than TUM. It’s an easy mistake to make with lower-case letters, but I’ll have to get new glasses!

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DT Cryptic No 25872

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 25872

Today’s hints and tips by Gazza

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BD Rating – Difficulty *** Enjoyment ****

An interesting and varied collection of clues, slightly more difficult than yesterday’s but worth the effort to tease out. As usual, the answers are hidden inside the curly brackets – select the white space inside if you’re totally stumped.

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DT Cryptic No 25868

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 25868

Today’s hints and tips by Gazza

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BD Rating – Difficulty ** Enjoyment ***

I was sailing through this one at a rate of knots until I hit 24a, where the wordplay held me up for ages until the penny finally dropped, swiftly followed by a bout of self-kicking! As usual the answers are hidden inside the curly brackets – select the white space inside the brackets to display the answer, but do try to get it from the hints first.

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