Putting the words to lights – crossword clues explained in plain English
Saturday’s puzzles alternate between Peter Chamberlain, who is also known as Cephas, and another setter
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
BD Rating – Difficulty * – Enjoyment **
Tilsit hopes to be back in this slot next week. This was quite an easy puzzle – mainly because the handful of obscure words like corncrib and insheathe were well clued.
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
BD Rating – Difficulty * – Enjoyment **
Last week we were treated to a hugely enjoyable puzzle which contained references to that well-known character Big Dave. This week we came back down to earth with a bump and while we don’t talk about solving times as part of the blog, let’s just say that cooking two hard-boiled eggs might have taken me longer.
Most of the Saturday papers tend to reserve their toughest or most elegant puzzles for a Saturday, but the Telegraph I think tends the other way, with a friendly none-too-taxing challenge, which generates lots of entries for the prize. In that respect, it ticks all the boxes. However, I prefer a puzzle that does offer a bit of a challenge. The grid was pretty awful as well, with lots of “double unches” (double unchecked letters) and a lot of four letter words which are clued rather uninspiringly. Compare with the Wednesday puzzle where the four-letter answers were clued with a bit of imagination and care.
The other slight issue was that the clue at 10 across was clued differently on line than in the paper. Luckily the answers were the same, otherwise there might have been a bigger problem.
Here are the clue explanations:-
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment *****
I think I shall start this review by introducing you to a new word. Or at least a word whose meaning you are not familiar with. NINA. What is it, O wise one, you ask? Well, gentle reader, it’s a word that has been adapted by crossword setters to mean something hidden in a crossword that you may not be aware of. Quite a few puzzles have Ninas, although you’d never know if you were not looking for them.
The Nina is actually named after the daughter of American artist Al Hirschfeld, who would hide things in his drawings that are related to Nina, his daughter. And so crossword setters happily nicked the idea for their puzzles as well. Some contain little messages like HAPPY BIRTHDAY or suchlike around the perimeter or in the rows between the answers. Sometimes some of the answers are linked in a sort of private joke. Some of you may know that I compile puzzles for the Independent General Knowledge Jumbo series (as Harbinger, I’m in this Saturday’s paper by the way!) and in July, a puzzle of mine read HAPPY BIRTHDAY BERYL across the top, as a tribute to my lovely sister who was celebrating her birthday on the day it was published. The Sunday Telegraph recently had a General Knowledge puzzle where a lot of the answers were the names of Toughie Crossword compilers. The Telegraph Crossword actually has a sort of famous history of Ninas going back to World War II, where the then setter Leonard Dawe published several puzzles that inadvertently contained the top secret codenames of the D-Day beaches just before the landings happened, and he was hauled in for questioning. Although that article says it was coincidence, Dawe was a teacher and used to encourage his pupils, some of whom were sons of RAF Officers, to supply words for him to put in the puzzles.
Anyway, back to 2009. Last Saturday’s puzzle was a tribute to our very own Big Dave and this site, and while it is tempting to think of our host as a dementia-ridden nun who likes to sing God Save The Queen, I think that would have been going a bit too far. Although Mrs BD may like to produce evidence!
This was quite a nice puzzle and certainly an improvement on the previous week. There were some lovely clues and as I solved it, I began to see one or two things appearing. So let’s have a look….
Don’t forget to vote on it at the end of the blog by clicking on the star rating, and have your say in the comment boxes at the very end. Newer posters sometimes take a little while for their posts to appear as their posts are moderated.
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment **
Having been a solver for many years, I always looked forward to Saturday’s puzzles. Each paper usually offered you more than one puzzle, and invariably, the puzzle you got on a Saturday was something special. Sadly I don’t feel that magic with the Telegraph puzzle. It’s an OK challenge, but I don’t get to feel the magic that you get with other papers and setters. This week’s contained a couple of good clues, but they were taken down by the two long answers in the centre. Both were clued with cryptic definitions, and while you could argue one was reasonable, I simply had not heard of the expression, and the other struck me as too remote and obscure to lead to the answer. The grid itself didn’t help with the centre almost isolated. I recognised the across answer, but had to guess at the down one. Even an anagram might have helped a bit.
Anyway, whine over, off we go. Your comments as to how you coped with the puzzle are welcomed.
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment: ***
My first bite at the Saturday Puzzle, and until this week it has tended to be the last of the weekend puzzles that I solve, simply because the others usually have themes or gimmicks that I love to solve. In most papers the Saturday puzzle is usually the most difficult of the week, but I don’t think this applies to the DT. However, it will now be the top of the list each week. I hope my reviews are as helpful as Peter’s were and if not, I’m sure you’ll let me know.
This was an interesting puzzle and is a curious mix of clues with some fine ones, plus one or two duds. The Telegraph is spoilt for cryptic definition clue writers, as Monday’s Maestro is probably one of the finest exponents of this genre around, and I sometimes think that even he overeggs the pudding occasionally. As a result, other attempts at cryptic definitions often hit the target, but not the bull, to use an expression from archery.
Anyway, let’s have a look at last Saturday’s challenge. One of the first things I notice is the brevity of clue writing in most cases. On first inspection that suggests to me a preponderance of cryptic definitions. Let’s see if I’m right.
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment: **
Tilsit has been unable to do this review, but will be in this slot next week.
Just a few weaker clues in this prize puzzle, but it wouldn’t be Saturday without a boy or a girl – this week it’s a girl!
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment: ***
Starting this week, Peter Biddlecombe is reviewing the Sunday puzzles.
This one is better than many recent prize puzzles, but lacks that extra something that gives you a feeling of satisfaction as you fill in the final answer.
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ***
On the tough side, this one – possibly because of 7 CDs, some a bit vague – but there were quite a few anagrams too, which should have been easy. 11A, 8D, 6D were the last answers to go in. Apologies for the late report – I’ve been busy looking after a young nephew this week.
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
A puzzle of moderate difficulty and the usual Saturday mixed bag of clues …
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ***
There are some pretty good clues here, and a decent grid. But there are also a few of my pet hates among the clues … Continue reading “DT 26002 – Review”