Friday – Page 2 – Big Dave's Crossword Blog

Toughie 3664

Toughie  No 3664 by Elgar

Hints and Tips by crypticsue

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

Given the battle I had to solve, parse and blog Elgar’s 300th Toughie, I will admit to being more than a little apprehensive when I printed off his 301st, where the last three Down clues had a whole piece of paper to themselves.   I was both relieved and delighted to find that he had set us his friendliest crossword for many a long year; I did know the hymn and the unknown catalogue was fairly clued; and the whole was most entertaining, my favourites being the brilliant 26a and 12d

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DT 31204

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31204

Hints and tips by Mr K

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BD Rating  -  Difficulty *** Enjoyment ***

Hello, everyone, and welcome to Friday.  Today we have a fun puzzle with tight cryptic grammar, solid definitions and nothing too esoteric. Continue reading "DT 31204"

Toughie 3660

Toughie No 3660 by Notabilis
Hints and tips by Gazza

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

It was a delightful surprise to find the name of Notabilis on today’s Toughie. We haven’t had a puzzle from him since Toughie 3036 almost exactly three years ago and his clever and very entertaining puzzles have been much missed. I do hope that today’s appearance signals his return on a regular basis. Many thanks to him for today’s splendid puzzle which is not fiendishly difficulty; I only needed to verify the 26a trickster.
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DT 31192

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31192

Hints and tips by Mr K

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BD Rating  -  Difficulty *** Enjoyment ****

Hello, everyone, and welcome to Friday. I thought this puzzle was just excellent, with many penny drop moments encountered either finding the answers or parsing the wordplay.  Continue reading "DT 31192"

Toughie 3652

Toughie No 3652 by Karla
Hints and tips by Gazza

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

Karla has upped the difficulty level a bit since his last Toughie but this is still pretty accessible and it’s very enjoyable. Many thanks to him.
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DT 31186

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31186

Hints and tips by Mr K

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BD Rating  -  Difficulty *** Enjoyment ***

Hello, everyone, and welcome to Friday. I couldn’t see today’s Quickie Pun. Not sure if that’s because I’m American or because I’m tired, but I hope somebody from the commentariat will help out there.  Continue reading "DT 31186"