Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 25949
Hints and tips by Tilsit
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ***
Another Monday, another outing for our regular setter. As usual, it’s the sort of puzzle designed to be kind to the newer solvers. Sadly, another outing for one of my least favourite grids, with a lot of the answers containing two consecutive unchecked letters, which I personally consider unfair to solvers. However the benign clues help here.
There’s the usual stock of cryptic definitions which either make you smile or wince. Overall, the smile factor is very much in evidence, although a couple don’t quite hit the mark for me.
Black marks to the Telegraph website, I only managed to get in about an hour ago, and the interactive filling is not as smooth as normal. Another black mark to 15 across which should have the number indication 3-3-5,4 rather than 13,4! [This has now been changed to (3,3,5,4) although (3-3-5,4) would have been more accurate. BD]
Anyway, on with the motley and let’s go….. As usual, the solutions are hidden for you to highlight to reveal the answer. Please feel free to leave any comments, but if it’s your first time, it can take a little while for your first post to appear. It just prevents those naughty spammers from invading the board.
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Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 25947
Hints and tips by Libellule
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ****
I started with the cryptic definition at 26a, and then moved round the crossword solving clues anticlockwise. All in all another very enjoyable and entertaining Friday crossword. Remember – if you want to see the answer, just highlight the text inside the {} curly brackets
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Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 25942 – Review
A full analysis by Peter Biddlecombe
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ****
An extra enjoyment star as I liked this more than most Saturday puzzles. The grid is sound with one small reservation – the NW and SE corners are a bit isolated, and swapping the lengths of 12 and 13 (and of course 22 and 23) would fix this. There are no placename answers, just a couple of islands in wordplay. There are still arbitrary people – three ladies (Anne, Crystal, Lizzie) and one gent (Gus). There are a few tricky answer words, including 6D and 11A, so their crossing might be a tricky area. Surface meanings are mostly good, and I only found four cases of “surface padding”. Curiously, all the 3-letter answers have a U in the middle, and none of them have to – I don’t know whether this is significant.
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Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 25946
Hints and tips by Gazza
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ***
This is an agreeable puzzle with a number of entertaining clues. It contains one word which was new to me, but it’s not too difficult to get it from the wordplay and the checking letters.
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Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 25945
Hints and tips by Big Dave
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ***
An easy but pleasant puzzle, with a strong feeling of déjà vu about some of the clues.
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Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 25944
Hints and tips by Gazza
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ***
Sitting in the garden with a long cool drink on a hot Summer’s day and doing gentle battle with a cryptic crossword – what more could you ask for? I thought that the clues in this one got better towards the end, with the last few down ones being excellent – or was it that the contents of my long cool drink were gradually taking effect?
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Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 25943
Hints and tips by Tilsit
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ***
Another pleasant start to the week from the Monday Maestro. Nothing terribly demanding and the usual mix of clues to encourage the newer recruits to the Cryptic World. I feel the puzzle gets off to a bit of a shaky start with the first few clues, but then gets into its stride and delivers what we expect on a Monday.
The spaces between the curly brackets hide the answer, and highlighting that space will reveal it. As usual, I’d love to hear your thoughts on the puzzle. Don’t be afraid, you’re among friends! If it’s your first time posting, it can take a little while for your post to appear, as first posts are always moderated to prevent spammers, but don’t let that put you off.
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Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 25941
Hints and tips by Libellule
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ***
A nice easy start with simple anagrams at 1a and 2d and then it got a bit more complicated… it also helps if you get 13a early on, as the “four cornery” feel to the crossword, needs the checking letters from this one to make life a bit easier. Otherwise, some excellent clues, and a well thought out and crafted crossword.
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Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 25936 – Review
A full analysis by Peter Biddlecombe
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ***
A very straightforward puzzle with only a couple of points to delay experienced solvers. One new answer for me, and only a few puzzling clues. Grid grumbles: none! A bit of a geography exam, but I doubt these entries caused serious trouble.
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Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 25940
Hints and tips by Gazza
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ***
Categorising a puzzle as difficult or easy is problematic, in that one which is easy for a veteran solver who knows all the conventions and has probably seen variations on many of the clues before, can be very difficult for a novice. So the “BD Difficulty Rating” at the top of all our reviews is not meant to be an absolute judgement but is a personal opinion of how this puzzle compares with an average one in this category.
I found this puzzle to be slightly easier than the normal Telegraph Cryptic (and therefore an ideal one for someone starting out), but with many well-constructed and entertaining clues – but that’s just one opinion – leave us yours via a comment!
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