Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 26023
Welcome to Pam!
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ***
It was very odd not having to rush around on Monday getting a blog ready in between visits from the nurse, carers and suchlike. Wednesday’s are usually lazy mornings for me, followed by the cut and thrust of the Bridge Club doing battle with some of the evil grannies of Brierfield (They are not really evil, but they are ferocious bridge players!).
I must start today by welcoming a newcomer to the blog in the shape of Pam, who also goes to the Bridge Club, however she is neither a granny or evil (she may be the former, but not the latter as far as I know!). Although Pam is a very fine bridge player, she is dipping her toe into the world of Telegraph crosswords for the first time after being prised away from the Everyman in the Observer and is visiting us for the first time. Welcome Pam, you are among friends. The drinks are on you!
Today’s puzzle is another good puzzle for those getting to grips with crosswords for the first time. As usual, the answers are hidden in white inside the curly brackets. Highlighting them will reveal the answer.
Feel free to have your say about what you liked or disliked in the discussion after the analysis. There’s also the star ratings, click on your star opinion to show what you thought. New posters should note that your first post may take a little time to appear as they are moderated to prevent spammers causing havoc.
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Toughie No 206 by Osmosis
Overegging the Pudding
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BD Rating – Difficulty **** – Enjoyment ***
When I saw that today’s puzzle was by Osmosis, I knew I was in for a tough battle and so it proved to be. In his other guise at the Independent, he tends to produce the most difficult puzzles there. Here there are some really clever clues, but one or two that cause some tooth-sucking. Apologies too for the lateness, a difficult Thursday for me.
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Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 26015
Hints and Tips by Tilsit
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ***
Time for another battle with the Monday Maestro. I have a feeling that those who find him to be extremely easy might have had a surprise today. There were one or two clues that caused me to scratch the old noggin and raise a few sparks. Overall quite a nice balance of clues, where some weeks we seem to have a preponderance of one type or another.
As usual, I’d be interested to hear your thoughts and welcome your contributions. A couple of things to remember, first time posters take a little longer to appear purely as they are vetted just to make sure they are not spammers being a pain in the rectum. There’s also a star rating facilitiy at the end of the blog and you can click on that to show your rating the puzzle. It’s purely for fun.
Oh, and for those who haven’t seen this in today’s papers!
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Toughie No 202 by Warbler
Look Before You Leap!
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ***
Today marks a first for yours truly! I actually agree with the current score given by solvers on Clued Up for the puzzle. It was a pleasant enough puzzle until I came to submit my entry and found I had three wrong answers. One was a typo because of the quirkiness of the entry system which frequently sends the cursor off at the wrong angle, but I also had two wrong answers; both of which were down to not reading the clue properly. Having suitably chastised myself, I entered the correct solutions and was done for another day.
One of those puzzles that would make a good daily challenge, but on the easy side for a Toughie. A couple of clever clues and one or two to make me smile. All in all a nice battle with an amiable setter.
This is the third time I have started this blog. I saved it to send to Big Dave but forgot that I had transferred it to my laptop and was saving the doc to an email, and of course it didn’t save.
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Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 26010
Brush Up on your (Word) Sums!
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ***
Thanks to Gazza for stepping in at short notice yesterday when I remembered that I had a hospital appointment and realised that even I was mortal and couldn’t cram 15 hours of things to do into 45 minutes.
Quite an entertaining puzzle today and a bit of a challenge. The clues were well-written and nicely misleading, and it took me a little longer than I would have liked. There was nothing too taxing in there but a few clues just required a bit more thought than on a Monday. Mostly word-sum types clue, as well.
As usual, your comments are welcomed at the end of the blog, and you can rate the puzzle by clicking on the star system with your rating, It is a bit of fun and reflects how people are feeling at that point. Newer posters should note that first posts take a little while to appear while they are moderated, just to prevent spammers from gumming up the works.
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Toughie No 198 by Firefly
Like a Dental Appointment
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BD Rating – Difficulty **** – Enjoyment ***
Apologies for my late arrival, my hospital appointment over-ran and a traffic delay also threw a spanner in the works.
Quite a tough struggle today and a real sense of achievement when the last letter went into the grid. Firefly in all his print guises, produces some really ferocious challenges and today’s was no exception. However I should say that some of the clues today left a bit to be desired and I have covered those in the blog.
I suspect that 29ac will provide many of the talking points today. Have your say at the end of the blog. New posters should note that their first posts may take a little time to appear, this is because first posts are checked to stop spammers from hijacking things. Don’t forget the star ratings at the end of the review as well. Click on your rating to tell everyone what you thought of it.
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Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 26003
The Return of the Native
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ***
Back from my short stay in Stalag Luft Calderdale Hospital, where I staged a daring escape by making a small but serviceable glider from pee pots that were stashed in my secret store there. With a good wind I was able to launch myself off the roof and soar majestically down the Calder Valley and landed safe and sound back in Hebden Bridge.
And after a weekend allegedly recuperating, we have the Monday Maestro to tackle. After last week’s plethora of double definition clues, we seem to have an abundance of cryptic definitions which you either love or hate.
I found today’s puzzle pleasant and the usual fine warm-up to the week, but I do have an issue that the answer to one of the clues is almost handed to you on a plate by the clue to the intersecting answer. The answer is at 23 across and the clue at 21 down. I just think it looks untidy and would it have made the puzzle ultra-difficult by letting 21 down read “23 across-ed sheep tear about”? The expression at 10 across is new to me, and there could have been an ambiguity at 8 down, but it is resolved by the subsidiary indications. There are also issues with the use of “a”, which in some clues is essential, but in others is padding and would affect the clue’s surface reading if left out.
Let’s go……
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Toughie No 194 by Busman
Charabancs of Fire!
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ***
Greetings from Calderdale Hospital, where I am having a very short stay (hopefully home this evening!). I have just been served with a bowl of the finest NHS Chicken Soup and a Cheese Sandwich for lunch. Rather oddly, I have also been served with Cheese and Biscuits for dessert!
I was admitted at some rather ungodly hour this morning and while waiting for the ambulance to bring me in, I managed to tackle this Toughie. When I eventually solved it, I tried to play the game of guess the setter (I do wish they would tell us on the website!) and came up with six other suspects rather than Busman.
I have a feeling this may divide the Community; some will like it and others hate it. I am disappointed with the rating it got on the website, it certainly wasn’t that weak.
Whether it’s the medication I am been filled up with, I feel rather sanguine about it. In some ways I am disappointed as Busman’s alter ego produces some absolutely terrific puzzles in The Spectator series (http://www.spectator.co.uk/article_assets/articledir_10457/5228953/crossword.pdf was last week’s cracker), and this doesn’t feel like a Toughie (today’s DT 26000 was much more ferocious!), but there were clues to make me smile and 8 across was a brilliant clue. When I finished solving online, I submitted the solution and found I had five mistakes – two were typos, but 2 down, 21 down and 26 across left me having to rethink.
Anyway, let’s dive in and see what lurks within.
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Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 25997
Hints and tips by Tilsit
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ***
The sun beats down on the tropical Calder Valley (Griff Rhys Jones missed us out with his river tour and went across the Pennines via Huddersfield last night!) and here we go with another week of crossword challenges. As usual, the Monday Maestro gives us a nice gentle start to the week and I’m pleased that this week we have a more balanced set of clues after last week’s abundance of cryptic definitions. Today’s workout should give the newer solver a broader introduction into cryptic crossword clues, although the old hand may have seen a few of them before.
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Toughie No 190 by Kcit
Elegant and Enjoyable
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ****
Greetings from a soggy Calder Valley (Hebden Bridge sur mer!) and here are the results of Thursday’s Toughie Jury. In his various guises, Kcit is one of my favourite setters and like Giovanni produces beautifully consistent and elegant puzzles. Today’s is no exception and contains clues to make you smile, as well as clues that are technically sound and accurate.
Incidentally some news for those of you who also tackle the Guardian puzzle. One of their long-running setters, Albie Fiore, who compiled under the pen-name Taupi (and Satori in the FT) died yesterday. Albie’s puzzles were usually fiendishly difficult, but always fair and contained elegance and wit in every clue. A sad loss to the world of crosswords. My condolences to his wife and family.
Don’t forget you can rate the puzzle by awarding it a star rating below left. Your comments are always welcome and positively encouraged. New posters always take a little longer to appear as the first post has to be approved to check for spammers. Continue reading “Toughie 190”
